Ishq
by Historianic
Summary: Daniel meets Betty and immediately falls in love with her. But Betty seems to have given her heart to another. Ultimately it is Daniel's actions that will change the course of Betty's romance and let her see what kind of man Daniel really is. DANIEL/BETTY of course!
1. It's a wonderful life

**Author's note: **I'll be finishing up "The Moments of Separation" soon. So this is a new story. Its an AU (heavily so) that's based off and inspired by the Hindi film _Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam_. I thought it was a scenario that had potential for a Daniel/Betty spin. If anyone's reading, I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm just borrowing these characters for a creative exercise.

* * *

**1**

Sunlight streamed in through the venetian blinds bathing the figure sprawled across the rumpled bed sheets in a natural glow. The chords of a guitar drifted through the small New York apartment.

Betty lazily opened one eye and smiled at the sound of Jesse practicing. In other things he might be a little laid back, lazy even, but in his music he was nothing if not a perfectionist.

Sitting up in the bed, Betty pulled on Jesse's discarded t-shirt, emblazoned with the name of some band she'd never even heard of, but that he absolutely loved. She padded barefoot into the living room where she knew Jesse would be. He was sitting on the sofa in only his boxers and softly strumming chords, pausing every so often to scribble something down.

"New song?" Betty spoke, alerting him to her presence.

Jesse turned round to face her, his eyes immediately lighting up.

"Hey beautiful," He smiled, getting up to give her a lingering kiss. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't be sorry," Betty shrugged, smiling back at him, "I love it when you play. I just hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Never babe," Jesse gave her another kiss. "Come on, sit down. Let me make you breakfast."

Betty nodded, following him into the kitchen area. That was when she caught sight of the time on his microwave.

"Oh crap!" Betty jumped from the barstool she'd settled on in alarm.

"What's the matter?" Jesse popped his head round the fridge door from where he was getting some eggs.

"I've got to go. My family will be expecting me," Betty dashed off, disappearing back into the bedroom.

"But it's only 8:00. And I know you never emerge earlier than 9:30 on a weekend," He called after her.

"Yeah, but it's my dad's birthday today. We're supposed to have a special family breakfast," Betty called back; it sounded like she was hopping around.

A moment later she re-emerged, dressed in her jeans and bright-coloured blouse from the night before, clutching her bag and sweater in her hands. By this time Jesse had cracked a few eggs into a mixing bowl and was beating them efficiently. He looked so cute and domesticated; sporting genuine bed-head, standing in his boxers barefooted, while he whisked up an omelette for breakfast that Betty almost didn't want to leave him.

But she quickly snapped out of it. If she wasn't at the breakfast, it would raise far too many questions that she wasn't in the mood to deal with yet.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go," Betty gave him an apologetic smile and met him for a quick kiss.

"I know, I know. I just wanted to do something nice for you," He kissed her again. "Will I see you tonight?"

Betty frowned.

"I can't. The party's tonight."

"With all of high society I'll bet," Jesse teased slightly, "hardly the place for a struggling musician like yours truly."

"Hey," Betty said tenderly, cupping his cheek. "You know I don't care about all that stuff right? I love you. That's the only thing that matters."

"Ditto babe," Jesse smiled and kissed her again. "Now get going. I don't want to get you in trouble."

She gave him a grateful smile and kissed him one last time, promising to call later before she dashed out the door.

* * *

Betty managed to sneak back in to the Suarez house easily enough. At times like this she was grateful for her family's Manhattan mansion. With so many wings in the house it made it a lot easier to move around without being noticed. Showered and dressed in a pretty sundress, Betty made her way out to the garden patio where they had decided to have breakfast.

"Someone's cutting it fine," a voice murmured from just behind her. Betty turned to see her heavily pregnant sister, Hilda. The elder Suarez sibling gave her younger sister a knowing smile.

While Hilda knew about her relationship with Jesse, Betty hadn't told her parents yet.

"So," Hilda gave a saucy smile and nudged her little sister, "was he good?"

"Hilda!" Betty squealed in outrage, blushing, "Papi is right outside! We're not talking about this now."

"So we'll be talking about it later then," Hilda arched a carefully sculpted eyebrow, laughing slightly as Betty blushed about five different shades of red.

"Hilda, what are you doing to your sister?" Rosa came out to meet her daughters. She smiled at Betty.

"Come on Elisabetta, we've been waiting on you."

Betty walked arm in arm with her mother. At the breakfast table her brother-in-law, Bobby, and nephew, Justin, were greeting her father. When they'd finished giving him their birthday wishes, she went over to him.

"Mjia! There you are," Ignacio spoke warmly at the sight of his youngest daughter.

Betty hugged her father warmly and kissed his cheek. "Happy Birthday Papi and may you have many more. I love you," She said.

"Thank you mjia," He planted a loving kiss on his daughter's forehead, "I love you too."

"Now come. Let us sit and eat! Your mother didn't go to all this trouble for nothing," Ignacio gestured towards the neatly laid breakfast table.

"Wait till you see what grandma planned for your surprise party!" Justin spoke idly, as he finished pouring himself some orange juice. There was a moment of frozen silence before,

"Justin!" An annoyed chorus rang out from the Suarez women. The young boy slapped a hand over his mouth in self-reproach for what he'd accidentally revealed.

"Honestly," Rosa tutted, "nothing stays in that child's mouth."

Ignacio laughed.

"That's because there's already so much in there!"

Justin mock glared while his family made fun of his talkative nature and tendency to blab.

As they all settled down once more, the moment passing, Ignacio turned to his wife.

"A party? You didn't have to go to so much trouble," He said, smiling at her.

Rosa took her husband's hand.

"Of course I did. We love you very much and are so lucky to have you. We wanted to celebrate that."

"_I_ am lucky to have all of _you,_" He spoke warmly. "I don't know what I would do without my family. And my Rosa," Ignacio gazed at his wife lovingly, "you are too good to me. You spoil me."

Ignacio caught his wife's hand and kissed it tenderly.

Betty smiled at her parents. She hoped to have the kind of love that they shared one day. Maybe she would have that with Jesse, she thought, and a smile rose to her face unbidden.

"Who's all coming tonight Grandma?" Justin asked eagerly. "Will there be someone famous?"

The Suarez family was well known in elite New York circles and whenever they held a big function, Justin was always curious to know who would be on the guest list.

"Not really mijo. Just some good friends and close business acquaintances. Although, there is someone coming tonight that might be of interest to you Betty," Rosa glanced at her youngest daughter.

"Really? Who is that Mama?" Betty asked curiously.

"The Meades will be coming tonight," Rosa said, sharing a secretive smile with her husband.

"I've met Mr. and Mrs. Meade plenty of times," Betty said, confused as to why her meeting one of her parents' closest friends again should be any different this time.

"Yes, but Claire and Bradford are bringing someone else with them. Their son has just moved back from California and they are bringing him with to the party. Tonight, ninita, you will meet Daniel Meade."

* * *

**AN:** "Elisabetta" is actually an Italian version of "Elizabeth". While "Isabela" or "Elisabeta" are the Spanish forms of Elizabeth. But I felt "Elisabetta" was closer to "Betty", which is a derivative of "Elizabeth". So I'm using a little creative license here. As far as I know a.k.a. based on various discussion boards on Spanish terms of endearment, "ninita" means little girl.

I know nothing about Spanish though, so any Spanish terms I use are what I've sourced using Google. I'll apologise now for any inaccuracies.


	2. An emerald dress and a crush

**Author's note: **Thanks so much for your kind and encouraging comments! I really appreciate it. And just thanks for reading in the first place and giving my little fic a chance. Here's the next chapter. Its still pretty much expositional, characters introducing themselves to other characters, which I hope comes across relatively naturally since I always find these type of scenes quite awkward to write. Which is funny when you think of it, because it's such a simple thing. Anyway, on with the story!

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

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**2**

Daniel was running late.

He'd been getting ready for his night out when Becks had called unexpectedly, something about his flight being delayed and having to kill a few hours, so he asked Daniel to go for a drink. Daniel had agreed, figuring he'd have enough time before the Suarez party and besides, it wasn't very often that he and Becks were both in the same city; his photographer friend was constantly on the move from one location to another.

But he'd failed to realize that the bar Becks picked was on the complete opposite side of Manhattan to the Suarez house. And then of course Becks had been late to arrive, which meant that they stayed later than Daniel had originally intended. When he eventually left for the party he landed in bumper-to-bumper traffic and by the time he arrived at the Suarez mansion, he was forty-five minutes late.

The house was flooded with light and warmth, sounds of the party drifting out into the mild night. As he made his way up the pathway to the front door, Daniel noticed that while elegant and clearly the home of people of wealth and some consequence, the grandeur of the house was tastefully understated. It had character and warmth. It wasn't ostentatious and coldly formal like his family home.

For a moment Daniel wondered how his father and Ignacio Suarez had managed to become friends. He'd never met the Suarez family but, if the nature of the house was any indication of the person who lived in it, then Ignacio was a very different man to Bradford. The housekeeper showed Daniel to the ballroom where the party was in full swing.

There were a significant number of people but the majority of them seemed to be close friends and family. Children were darting in and out of the large French doors that led to the garden, laughing and squealing, and no one seemed to mind. Daniel scanned the crowd, trying to find his parents. He was looking so intently that he failed to watch where he was going and a moment later had collided with someone.

"Oops, sorry!" A soft voice called out.

Daniel looked up to find himself face to face with a pair of rich, dark eyes. They belonged to a young woman who couldn't be more than twenty five.

She was dressed in a beautiful emerald dress which flattered the curves of her petit yet sumptuously curvy figure and brought out the richness of her olive skin. Contrary to the typical, sophisticated pinned-up style, her jet black locks hung loose in soft waves that swept her shoulders. He'd reached out instinctively when they'd collided to steady them both, so now his hands were lightly gripping her bare upper arms.

Daniel swallowed hard, surprised at having such a visceral reaction to this young woman. She wasn't even his usual type.

"I'm so sorry," She carried on speaking, her voice apologetic and warm. "I should have been looking where I was going."

"It's quite alright," Daniel found his voice at last, "I wasn't paying enough attention either. But there's no harm done," He dropped his hands back to his sides and gave her a smile.

"Well then," She smiled back pleasantly, "if you'll excuse me, I'd better take this call," She gestured to the phone that she was still half holding to her ear.

"Of course," Daniel nodded slightly, and stepped aside to let her pass. The young woman gave him an appreciative smile and was then weaving her way through the crowded ballroom again.

"No...I'm still here Jesse...I was just being my usual clumsy self and ploughed into some poor, unsuspecting man..." He heard her say into her phone before she was out of earshot.

Daniel chuckled slightly at her self-deprecating words. She didn't seem like the kind of women he usually met in these circles and Daniel hoped he would run into her again before the night was over.

Just then he felt a hand on his shoulder and Daniel turned around to see his mother, Claire.

"Daniel darling, there you are," She kissed his cheek. "We were beginning to worry you weren't going to show," She said.

"I'm so sorry Mom. Becks called unexpectedly and we went for drinks. He was late, which made me late. And then traffic was a nightmare..." Daniel trailed off.

"Why am I not surprised," The stern baritone of his father cut in.

"Hello Dad," Daniel said soberly, looking up at the imposing frame of Bradford Meade.

"Bradford, just for tonight can you put aside your differences," Claire ventured. "After all, this is the first time in a very long time that we're all together as a family. Let's not fight with each other."

"Alright Claire," Bradford's tone immediately softened as he addressed his wife, "you're right."

Bradford turned back to his son.

"Come on then. It's time you greeted our host, maybe salvage this poor first impression you've made."

Daniel swallowed hard over his father's jibe. It had been seven years, yet some things would never change. No matter how hard he tried, he would never, never meet his father's expectations.

"Come on darling," Claire said, gently taking his arm, "let's go meet Ignacio Suarez."

Daniel smiled at his mother and allowed her to guide him across the floor, while his father followed. Claire led them to a man about Daniel's height, handsomely greying, in a well turned-out suit. He was laughing warmly as he talked with a gentleman next to him. Standing near him was a man with his arm protectively around a pregnant woman. They both looked about Daniel's age. A more mature woman, with familiar dark eyes, was talking to them.

"Pardon our interruption Ignacio," Claire spoke.

"Not at all Claire," Ignacio spoke warmly as he turned to her. "We are all friends here and, after the past five years, you are practically family."

Claire smiled in appreciation and his father responded,

"You are very kind Ignacio and we wholly share your sentiments," Bradford said smiling and the two men shook hands. Daniel stood a little awkwardly until Claire remembered he and Ignacio had not yet met.

"Ignacio, I'd like to introduce you to our son," Claire looked at Daniel fondly. "This is Daniel."

Daniel stepped forward and offered his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you sir and happy birthday. I'm sorry I was late to your celebration," He added sheepishly.

Ignacio clasped his hand warmly. "Do not make yourself uneasy Daniel. You are here now and you are most welcome."

Daniel nodded his thanks. Ignacio's warm, friendly tone had him instantly relaxing.

"It is good to meet you at last, Daniel," the mature woman with the familiar dark eyes greeted him kindly. "Your mother has spoken of you often."

"This is my wife Rosa," Ignacio said, as Daniel and the mature woman shook hands. "And here is my eldest daughter, Hilda," He indicated the pregnant woman, who nodded in acknowledgement, "and her husband, my son-in-law, Bobby," He gestured towards the man standing beside Hilda, who shook Daniel's hand.

"My grandson Justin is also around here somewhere," Ignacio laughed slightly, "but where is Elisabetta?" He looked across the room quickly.

"She's my youngest daughter," He explained, turning back to Daniel, "she was here just a minute ago."

"She might be in the garden with the children Papi," Hilda piped up, "little Salina was asking for her earlier."

"Ah," Ignacio nodded thoughtfully, "the children are always asking for Betty."

"She's such a lovely, sweet girl," Claire added.

"At any rate, you will meet her before the night is over," Ignacio addressed Daniel once more. "I hope you have come hungry. Mrs. Suarez has arranged a small feast for us this evening. Come everyone, we must enjoy ourselves!"

* * *

Daniel was surprised to find he was having a good time.

Society parties were usually stuffy, boring affairs but the Suarez family was different.

They were warm, generous and sincere. The people they had here tonight were all people they genuinely liked and cared for, which made all the difference. Daniel had been having an animated conversation with Bobby, when Hilda called for her husband and Bobby had to excuse himself.

When Bobby went off with Hilda, Daniel rejoined his mother just in time to see the dark-haired beauty in emerald that he'd bumped into earlier heading their way. But it wasn't Daniel she came to talk to. Instead she greeted his mother while he looked on in surprise.

"Hello Mrs. Meade," the young woman said, giving his mother a warm hug which Claire happily returned. "I'm sorry for not greeting you sooner."

"It's quite alright dear. I can imagine you've had your hands full tonight. It's quite the to-do."

"It's a little bit much isn't it?" the girl laughed slightly. "I just hope I haven't forgotten to greet any of my aunts. But it is nice to have everyone together like this," She admitted.

"I know what you mean," Claire said, touching Daniel's arm, "I'm over the moon to have both my husband and son with me tonight. You haven't met Daniel yet, have you?" His mother said looking between the two of them.

At that moment the young woman finally looked over to him. Her eyes widened slightly in recognition and then her lips twitched, as though she were trying not to giggle. Claire, unaware of this exchange, proceeded to introduce the two of them.

"Daniel, this is Betty, well, Elisabetta Suarez; Ignacio's youngest daughter."

Daniel smiled. What were the odds? His mystery beauty was also his host's daughter.

"Betty's fine," the young woman said, shaking his hand in greeting.

He smirked slightly. "Hello again."

Claire frowned, confused. "Again? So the two of you have met?"

"Not exactly. We _ran_ into each other earlier," Daniel explained, and watched in delight as Betty's cheeks flushed prettily.

"What your son means to say is that I almost knocked him over and into the flower arrangement next to him," Betty added, her cheeks still a pretty rosy hue. "I am so sorry about that," She said to Daniel.

Daniel just shrugged. "Like I said before, it was as much my fault as yours."

Betty smiled appreciatively but before anything else could be said, something on the other side of the ballroom seemed to catch her eye.

"I'm sorry," She said again, "you'll have to excuse me; my grandmother is calling for me. It was nice to meet you Daniel," Betty continued, smiling at him again. "Mrs. Meade I'll find you again later and we can catch up," She said to his mother.

"Absolutely dear, I want to hear all about what you've been up to lately," Claire said warmly.

Betty nodded in agreement and was then making her way towards the sweet looking old-woman who'd called for her.

Daniel continued to watch Betty as she greeted her grandmother and they had some sort of exchange. Betty nodded in response to something the old woman said before disappearing into the crowd again. When Daniel finally tore his gaze away from her he found his mother watching him with a knowing smile.

"What?" Daniel said, fighting down a flush of embarrassment.

"Nothing," Claire sipped delicately at her champagne and looked like the cat that ate the canary.

Daniel eyed his mother warily but Claire didn't say anything else and turned her attention to the rest of the party.

He really should have known better. Just as he was starting to relax his mother spoke again.

"You should ask Betty to dance later," She said. That wasn't too bad, Daniel thought. Then,

"Daniel you're so cute when you've got a crush. The two of you will have such pretty babies."

"Mom!"


	3. Musicians and moonlit walks

**Author's note:** Thanks so much for your continued support and encouragement. I hope this new chapter is worth the wait! Updates should be more regular from this point onwards. Also, the point of view changes halfway through the chapter. It's deliberate and hopefully not confusing ;).

**Additional author's note:** I've made some small but significant changes in this chapter regarding the respective backgrounds of the Meade and Suarez families.

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely nothing. No copyright infringement is intended. I'm simply borrowing these characters for a creative exercise.

* * *

**3**

The Annex was packed tonight.

People were making the most of their Friday night out and revelling in the fact that they didn't have to go in to work till Monday. Betty stood close to the front of the stage, deciding to get up and dance for the last song along with the rest of the enthusiastic crowd.

Jesse's fingers danced along the frets of his guitar as he sang into the microphone. Sweat dripped off him from the heat of the lights and the energy he poured into his performance.

She thought he was glorious.

Betty loved to see him like this, loved this evidence of the passionate man she'd fallen in love with. That fire within him was one of the things that had first attracted her to him.

With a final crash of drums the set came to an end and, as always, Jesse's gaze immediately sought her out. Their eyes met and he gave her a mischievous smile before speaking into the mic once more, thanking the audience.

Now she was sitting at the bar, finishing her drink while she waited for Jesse to come to the front of house. The guys usually took a couple of minutes to pack up and change, but tonight it seemed to be taking longer than usual. Ian, the bass player, emerged from the backstage area first and made his way towards her.

"Hey Betty," He smiled, giving her a hug. "Jesse is still getting changed. He'll be out in a minute. We're getting a table over here," He guided her through the crowd and to a booth tucked into a cosy little corner.

They were joined shortly afterwards by the rest of the band, Chris, Mark and Kyle. Finally Jesse emerged.

"Hey! Keep your hands to yourself," He joked as he saw Mark sitting with his arm casually around Betty's shoulders while they all talked.

"Damn," Mark snapped his fingers. "Looks like our love affair will have to end Betty," He smirked at her.

"Oh no, really?" Betty played along. "Guess I'll just have to settle for Jesse then," She shot her boyfriend a teasing smile.

"Very funny you two. Suddenly everyone's a comedian," Jesse shook his head at them, smiling, while Kyle and Chris looked on amused.

They all shifted over slightly so that Jesse could slide into the seat next to Betty.

"You guys were incredible tonight, the new set is really good," She complimented them.

"Thanks babe," Jesse beamed, leaning down for a kiss and Betty lost all sense of time or place.

"Geez guys, do you have to do that here?" Mark whined playfully, shielding his eyes. "I can't really afford to pay for therapy."

Jesse was about to retort when he was interrupted by Ian, who had gone to fetch some drinks.

"Alright, this round's on me," Ian announced, "but I'm not getting anything else."

The rest of the guys all muttered something under their breath and Betty just shook her head in amusement. They were like a band of brothers; the banter, the ribbing each other. She'd gotten to know them a little since she and Jesse had been dating.

Ian was the voice of reason and the peacemaker. He knew how to talk sense into the others and was generally the one they all turned to for advice.

Mark was the joker, spontaneous and playful. He and Jesse were a lot alike, which was why they often butted heads. But despite a few occasional arguments between them, they were firm in their friendship.

Kyle was a little shy and studious. Betty had been impressed by how wide his general knowledge was, she could literally talk to Kyle about anything. And finally there was Chris.

When she first met him, Betty had felt a little intimidated by the drummer until she got to understand his laconic nature. Chris only really talked when necessary, and most of the time preferred to observe the others. But that didn't matter. He didn't need to speak to make his presence felt.

Despite these differences, the guys were the best of friends and very protective of each other, and, as it turned out, very protective of her too. Like the time some guy had started getting grabby with her, despite the fact she had clearly told him she wasn't interested, and Chris had come up and told the guy in no uncertain terms to back off "or else". And one of them always came to check on her before the start of a gig, to say hi and make sure she had the best seat in the house.

Somewhere along the line the guys had evidently decided that she was "one of them". Betty had been a little nervous about fitting in with Jesse's friends, knowing how different she and Jesse were. So the knowledge that they accepted her made her very happy. That and she'd grown to really like and care about each of them.

"Jesse, there's Guinness for you and Betty," Ian's voice broke her from her musings as he passed the glasses down.

Jesse smirked.

"She's developed a taste for the best beer in the world," He said proudly.

"I can't believe you've gotten her hooked on that Irish travesty," Mark teased. "How you crazy Irishmen drink that stuff the way you do, I'll never understand. And now you've brainwashed the girl."

Of course, Jesse immediately had a smart retort, which sparked another round of playful bickering with Ian playing referee. As the evening wore on, the guys gradually drifted off. Kyle decided to call it a night and head home, while Chris and Ian were busy chatting up some girls.

So now it was just Betty and Jesse.

"Finally," Jesse murmured, gathering her closer against his side now that they were alone. "I've missed you," He said, planting a kiss on the side of her neck.

Betty smiled up at him. "You saw me the day before yesterday."

"Exactly. That's a whole 24 hours, far too long. And then I had to share you with the rest of the guys tonight," He pouted and Betty thought he looked too cute.

She gave him a quick kiss.

"I had fun with everyone tonight, it's been a while since we all went out," Betty said.

"Well, you've been busy," Jesse said. There was a slight edge in his tone that Betty didn't like.

She knew she'd been a little preoccupied lately, getting settled at her new job as features editor and dealing with her family. There'd been her father's birthday celebration, then Hilda's baby shower, both of which she'd played a big part in organizing and arranging. It also hadn't helped that lately, her father had been calling on her to attend a lot of charity events and social functions on behalf of the family. She'd been to six in the last month. All of this had been eating up a lot of her time.

"Jesse..." She started, attempting to explain but he waved her off.

"Don't worry about it babe," He said quickly, giving her a smile, "I didn't mean anything by it."

Betty wanted to ask him about it a little more but Jesse beat her to the punch and moved them deftly on to the next subject.

"Anyway," He continued, "now that we're alone, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. I've got some exciting news."

That piqued her interest.

"Ok," She breathed, "what's going on?"

"You know how I took longer than usual to come out after the set tonight?" At her nod he went on. "Well, that's because we were talking to Jeff McCann. He's the manager of Seven."

"The Punk rock band that's been on radio all the time lately?" Betty said, her eyes wide.

"One and the same. Turns out they've got a big gig coming up in LA and he wants us to be their supporting act."

Betty squealed and leapt up from her seat in excitement, spilling Jesse's half full glass of Guinness all over the table in the process.

"Oh crap! I'm so sorry!" She said, blushing slightly as she hastily grabbed a napkin and tried to mop up the mess. "But this is absolutely amazing Jesse! It's such a great opportunity, I'm so happy for you!"

She leaned back down to kiss him, the spilt beer and now wet napkin momentarily forgotten. Jesse tangled his fingers in her hair, the kiss deepening, and she could feel him smiling against her lips.

"I'm glad you feel that way," He murmured when they pulled apart, "Because I'd like you to go with me."

Betty frowned at him in confusion.

"What?"

Jesse reached for her hand.

"I want you with me. This gig is a really big deal for the band, for me. It's our first time playing with a professional act and it could open some doors for us. I want you to be there. The gig's on Friday, but we could make a weekend of it. We can spend a little time on the beach; I'll even let you drag me to that art museum you like. We can leave Sunday night and be back in time for work on Monday morning. What do you think?" He looked at her hopefully and Betty couldn't resist.

"I think that sounds wonderful," She smiled and kissed him again.

"So that's a yes?" The corners of his mouth twitched, hinting at that smile she loved.

"It's a yes," She confirmed. "I'll come up with a cover story for my parents. What weekend is it?"

"The 25th."

Betty froze feeling a heavy weight settle in her chest. This couldn't be happening.

"The 25th?" She said, looking at him regretfully. "Jesse, that's the same weekend as Justin's play."

Jesse's face fell. "Shit," He said, "Can't you go on another night?"

"It's opening night. Our whole family will be there and I already promised I'd go. Justin's been talking about it for weeks. It'll look a little suspicious if I suddenly back out."

"But this gig is important to me Betty, I really want you to be there."

"I know Jesse, I want to be there too. This really sucks, but I can't just bail on my family either."

"Yeah, I guess," Jesse agreed half-heartedly. Betty could tell he was upset and she frantically tried to think of a way to make it up to him, to make things better.

"Look, I can still come to LA for the rest of the weekend," She said, trying to come up with a compromise. "I'll fly out straight after the play and we can still have the whole of Saturday and Sunday together."

"Sure, fine, whatever," Jesse said non-commitally. He drew his hand away from hers, folding his arms across his chest. He was shutting down on her, withdrawing into himself, she could tell.

"Jesse, come on," Betty said, "You know I want to be there, its just my family—"

"Yeah, I know, you can't let them down. I guess I should have known better by now," Jesse said bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Betty couldn't believe how quickly the evening was falling apart. One minute they were laughing and smiling, now it looked like they were about to have a fight.

"Oh come on Betty," Jesse's voice went up a few decibels higher than his usual speaking volume. "If you have to make a choice between your family and me, you always pick them. I don't even know why I was surprised, I always take second priority when it comes to them."

"That's not fair."

This was evidently the wrong thing to say. Whatever tenuous control Jesse had on his anger snapped with those words.

"Not fair?" He said; his voice dangerously low. "Not fair?"

"Jesse..." Betty tried to placate him, not wanting to create a scene in a crowded club.

"What's _not fair_ is that half the time I practically have to sneak around if I want to see my girlfriend; what's _not fair_ is that I've been dating my girlfriend for a year, but she still hasn't told her parents about us or even that she's in a relationship-"

"Jesse please-" She tried again but he spoke over her.

"And what's _not fair_ is that my own girlfriend, who I love more than anything and who says she loves me, is really ashamed of me," His voice broke on those last words.

Betty gasped.

"That's not true!" She burst out. "Jesse, I know our relationship has been a little complicated but I have never, ever, ever been ashamed of you," She said urgently, desperate for him to understand this.

"Well you might as well have been, because that's what it feels like."

Betty jerked back as though she'd been struck.

"You know what," Jesse said, getting to his feet. "This has been a really long day, so I'm gonna call it a night. I can't do this with you right now."

"Jesse, wait. We need to talk about this," She tried to stop him from leaving.

"About what?" He said dejectedly. "You're not coming to the LA gig, which pretty much covers it."

"Jesse please—"

"I hope your nephew has a good show," He continued, his tone flat. And without another word, Jesse walked away from her and left the club.

Betty could feel unshed tears stinging her eyes. She got up from her seat, so quickly she almost fell tripping over her own feet, and hurried after him. She knew he was angry and hurt, and she had to make things right.

Luck however, was not on her side as almost every waiter seemed to get in her path on her way out, slowing her down. By the time she made it outside, Jesse was more than halfway down the block. He was tall and his strides were long and fast, anger no doubt fuelling his quick pace. She tried calling out to him but he didn't turn around or stop.

Betty was left standing on the pavement outside The Annex, trying hard to blink back tears and too upset to move. She and Jesse had had arguments before, but never anything like this. He'd never walked out on her before. Taking a deep breath, Betty tried to calm herself and gather her thoughts. She had managed to compose herself when an unexpected but familiar voice called out.

"Betty?"

She spun around and was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Daniel?" Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the sight of him. She hadn't seen him since her father's birthday party three weeks ago. He was dressed more casually now wearing an expensive cream sweater and dark slacks. "What are you doing here?"

"There's a good Chinese that stays open late a few blocks from here," He explained with a smile, "I had a bit of a late night craving."

He'd been moving towards her while he spoke. Now that he was closer, his expression changed to one of concern.

"Are you ok?" He peered down at her, unconsciously resting his hands on her shoulders, much like he had the first time they had met. It was an oddly protective gesture.

Betty managed a weak smile. She couldn't talk to him about what had happened. Their families were close friends, and while part of her felt instinctively that she would be able to trust Daniel, she didn't want to put him in a potentially awkward position.

"I'm fine, just getting some air," She said. When Daniel didn't look convinced, she sighed. She was never a very good liar.

"Alright," She admitted, "it's been a bit of a rough night."

"You look like you're about to cry. That's some 'rough night'," Daniel said.

Betty mentally cursed herself. Evidently, she hadn't quite gotten her emotions under enough control yet.

"I'm fine Daniel, really," She insisted. "I got into a fight with a..._friend_ tonight, so I was a little shaken up. But it'll blow over. Everything's fine."

Daniel looked like he wanted to say something more, but he accepted her explanation and didn't pry any further. Something Betty was very grateful for.

"Ok," He said, "If you say so."

Betty released a breath.

"I'm not sure you should be on your own like this though," He continued. "Can I give you a ride home or anything?" He offered, looking to where a black town car was parked.

Betty smiled.

"Thank you Daniel, but I think I'm gonna take a walk. It's a nice night out and I'm not really in a hurry to be anywhere."

"Well, in that case, would you like some company?" He asked her, smiling.

Betty gaped at him slightly, unable to hide her surprise at his offer.

"What about your Chinese take-out plans?" Was all she managed to get out.

Daniel smirked.

"I can work up an appetite."

* * *

"Betty?" Daniel playfully waved his hand in front of her face. "You still with me?"

She blinked, her gaze focusing on him as she returned from wherever her thoughts had taken her.

"What? Yes. Sorry Daniel," She bit her bottom lip and looked slightly guilty. "I guess I'm not very good company right now."

Daniel shrugged easily.

He was sitting in traffic when he spotted Betty standing outside The Annex. Curious, and admittedly pleased to see her again, he had asked his driver to pull up and then slipped out of the town car his mother insisted on his using since he'd been back.

His curiosity quickly switched to concern when he noticed she seemed visibly upset. She had insisted she was alright though and then accepted his offer to join her on a walk. He gave his driver the rest of the night off, telling him he would find his own way to the Chinese restaurant and get a cab home afterwards.

Betty had insisted he complete his errand and pick up the Chinese take-out he'd been craving, so they'd done that and he'd made sure to get enough for two. She had seemed charmed by the little hole-in-the wall place with its red paper lanterns and small, cosy tables with wooden chopsticks and plastic forks while they waited for his order.

Now they were in Central Park.

Betty told him that she'd been watching a local band perform at the club that night. They'd continued to make idle conversation, but every so often Betty would grow quiet and appeared to be lost in her thoughts.

"Anything you want to talk about? Sometimes it helps," He offered.

She shook her head.

"Not really. It's nothing, I mean, it's something," She added at his look, "but it'll work itself out, I'm sure. We don't need to talk about it."

"Ok," Daniel agreed easily. Betty clearly didn't want to discuss whatever had upset her earlier and he wasn't about to push her.

"So our parents are pretty close," Daniel commented, figuring a change of subject was in order.

"Yeah," Betty agreed, "Ever since they met at the Meade Black & White Ball a few years ago, they've practically treated each other like family."

"I think it's been good for them though," Daniel observed. "I know my mum appreciates having Mrs. Suarez's friendship. And my father thinks very highly of your dad. Getting Bradford Meade's favour and approval is a rare occurrence so when it happens, you notice," He added, something wistful in his tone. "I have to admit though, their friendship surprised me. They just seem so different."

"It's true our fathers' natures and temperaments are a little different. But they're similar in a lot of ways also," Betty countered. "I mean, they're both from families with strong legacies -your family's publishing empire, and Papa's family's oil company. They understand and appreciate the obligations that come with being born into that kind of privilege and heritage. Rites and traditions are important to them."

"Well I think your family does a lot better at the whole family traditions thing," Daniel said wryly.

"They do," Betty responded quietly, it sounded like she was half talking to him, and half talking to herself.

"But that's a good thing isn't it?" He continued, helping himself to a dumpling. "Having those roots, it keeps you grounded."

"Yes, of course," Betty agreed, "but sometimes, the roots are _too_ strong. They can strangle you; you don't have room to grow..." Her voice trailed off.

Daniel looked at the girl walking beside him, something unreadable in her dark eyes, and wandered if they were still talking about their parents.

"So this is weird," Betty said, snapping him from his thoughts and evidently trying to break the seriousness of the conversation.

"What?" Daniel smiled.

"This," She gestured between them and then helped herself to a dumpling from their shared take-out container. "Walking through Central Park at 10 o'clock at night, eating dim sum and having a near philosophical conversation," She laughed slightly.

Daniel shot her a flirtatious smile.

"Stick with me gorgeous," He winked at her playfully, "I'll show you things you've never even dreamed of."

He made his delivery deliberately over the top and was rewarded when Betty burst out laughing, a light, tinkling sound that was utterly infectious.

"You didn't seriously earn your playboy title using clichéd lines like that, did you?" She asked him in disbelief and still smiling. "And if you did then I am completely embarrassed for my gender!"

Daniel laughed and gave her a smile that was slightly guilty.

"Saw right through that one, huh?" He said. "I see my reputation precedes me."

"I may have heard one or two things," She bit her bottom lip again. It seemed to be a habit of hers and one that Daniel found incredibly cute. "But you know what it's like, people talk."

"They do little else," He agreed.

"Well I've never believed the gossips any way," Betty assured him.

"I appreciate that," Daniel gave her a soft smile, "but I'm afraid, in my case, most of it is probably true."

"Even the Piper triplets?" Betty asked him sceptically.

"Ok, that was different," Daniel defended himself, "I didn't even _know_ that there were _three_ of them! I thought I was going out with one girl, who just never got tired."

"Oh my god!" Betty was laughing again and Daniel silently congratulated himself on having cheered her up and lightened her mood, even if it was at his expense. "You're unbelievable!"

"Thank you," Daniel smirked at her, still laughing slightly. "But yeah, that was definitely not one of my finer moments," He admitted.

"I was a bastard Betty, I make no bones about it," He added a little more seriously. "I was selfish, entitled, and extremely insecure. And I took it out on everybody around me. I treated women as though they were there solely for my entertainment. I mean, if I look back on some of the things I did, it makes me want to chop off my _own_ penis with a kitchen knife."

"Wow," Betty had sobered a little but the corners of her mouth were twitching, as though she were fighting a smile. "Putting aside that somewhat disturbing visual," He chuckled at that, "that's...really honest Daniel. So what changed?"

He let out a sigh. He'd never really talked to anyone about what prompted his decision to leave Meade Publications and everything that followed. But it was easy to be open with Betty.

"I guess I just got tired," He took a moment to gather his thoughts. "In the beginning, all the things I did, the partying, the women, was to get my parents' attention. Then it was just to get at them, and then it was because I just didn't know how to do, how to be anything else."

Betty continued to watch him quietly and he took that as a sign to continue.

"When my dad gave me the position of editor-in-chief at HUDSON, I thought that maybe he was finally giving me a chance. Finally acknowledging me as being someone worthwhile. But he just kept comparing me to Alex."

"Your older brother," Betty murmured quietly.

"Yeah. He was the golden child. When he died, I had to step into his shoes. But I could just never measure up. Eventually, I couldn't do it anymore. I got tired of competing with my brother's ghost; of only being seen as either Bradford's son or Alex's kid brother. So I left. Ran away to Europe, spent a year travelling and getting drunk."

"And then?" Betty said, watching him closely.

"And then, once I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I decided, you know what? I'm gonna make things work. So I moved to San Francisco and went back to school to do something I wanted to do. Now I'm a starting level architect at a small New York firm. Pretty crazy huh?" He said with a self-deprecating smile as he concluded his tale.

"No, Daniel," Betty said softly, "not crazy at all. That you made your own way, that's...that's wonderful."

They looked at each other silently for a few moments and Daniel was touched by her sincerity.

"Thank you, Betty," He murmured. She nodded slightly then,

"Well it's getting late, we should probably go."

"Yeah," Daniel said, not really wanting to. She started walking again but his voice stopped her.

"Betty," He started, feeling like a teenager in high school talking to his first crush instead of the worldly, experienced thirty two year old man he actually was. "Could we maybe do this again some time?"

She startled, his request clearly taking her by surprise. Her pretty crescent mouth opened and closed a few times and her eyes widened slightly before she finally smiled.

"Yes," She said finally, "Of course we can see each other again, we're...we're friends."

"Friends?" He repeated, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Yes," She said firmly. "Friends."

* * *

**Author's note:** As far as I know "The Annex" is not a real club and "Seven" is not a real band ;). Thanks for reading!


	4. Matchmaker, Matchmaker

**Author's note:** Please note: I've made some small but significant **changes** to **chapter three** - skip down to the conversation Betty and Daniel have about their fathers. The changes are minor but their significance will become apparent very soon in the story.

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave some feedback! Reading your comments never fails to bring a smile to my face :).

**Disclaimer:** Still own absolutely nothing. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

**4**

Betty walked into the kitchen, startled by how loud her heels sounded on the hardwood floor. The sound seemed to echo and throb throughout her skull, making the pounding behind her eyes that much worse.

"Oh dear," Sofia, the family's long-time housekeeper, surveyed Betty with fond amusement.

"Morning Tia," Betty managed weakly.

Sofia smiled sympathetically. "You do not look at all the thing ninita. Here, sit down. I'll fetch you a glass of water and some aspirin."

The kind older woman pottered around the kitchen while Betty settled herself at the island in the centre of the kitchen.

"There you are," Sofia slid the small bottle of tablets and a glass of water towards her. "I'll have Anna fix you some breakfast; I don't think you're up to doing it yourself this morning. And don't worry," She continued when Betty went to object, "just something light. But you can't go to work on an empty stomach."

Betty smiled at the older woman affectionately.

Sofia had been the Suarez family's housekeeper for as long as Betty could remember and was more like an aunt to the girls than a household employee. She had been her mother's first maid back when Mrs. Suarez was still a Miss de la Fuente. When Rosa had married Ignacio Suarez, Sofia had gone with her young mistress to her new household. Sofia had been a part of the family ever since. She'd half raised Betty and Hilda, and she was still just as fiercely loyal to Rosa as she had been when the young Miss de la Fuente was eighteen.

"Thank you Tia," Betty said gratefully, "you always take such good care of me."

"Of course," Sofia gave her a one-armed hug, "But you and Miss Christina try not to have such a wild time next time ninita," She winked at Betty playfully before disappearing to speak to Anna about breakfast.

Alone now, Betty took the aspirin Sofia had so kindly gotten for her and groaned.

She was going to kill Christina.

It had been four days since her fight with Jesse and Betty hadn't heard anything from him. She understood that he needed a little space to cool off but that didn't mean she was happy about it. That was when Christina decided to intervene. Determined to get Betty to stop moping, Christina had insisted that they go out and have a good time. Betty had reluctantly agreed and along with Christina and her other friends, they had gone out for a night of dinner and dancing.

There'd been wine at dinner and then they'd stopped in at two or three different clubs and Betty had had drinks at each of them. She hadn't intended to drink so much and at the end of the evening, feeling just a little buzzed, she honestly hadn't thought that she had.

Her hangover this morning said otherwise.

With a sigh Betty continued to sip her water, praying for the aspirin to take effect, and fumbled with her phone to check her messages.

There was one from Daniel Meade, asking if she wanted to have lunch with him sometime. Betty was in no mood to work out an appropriate response.

Daniel had been very kind and attentive to her three nights ago when he'd discovered her outside The Annex, and she appreciated that. He'd been sweet and disarming, but looking back on that evening, Betty was a little concerned that, in her vulnerable state, she may have let her guard down with him a little too much.

She was not wholly naive and she could tell that Daniel might be interested in her. That was why she had no intention of doing anything else that might encourage him. So she skipped to the next message, deciding she'd deal with Daniel's text later.

When she saw who the next message was from, Betty froze.

**Jesse Wilde: I miss you. I'm sorry. Can we please talk?**

The message had come through in the early hours of the morning. Betty cursed herself for not seeing it sooner and quickly entered a reply.

**Betty Suarez: I'm sorry too. Yes, I'd like to talk. After work? I'm done by 17h30. Will you be home?**

She waited for a tense five minutes while Anna brought in her breakfast. Betty was eating on her own this morning since Rosa had spent the previous evening at Hilda and Bobby's place, when her sister had complained about having Braxton Hicks contractions, and her father would be returning from his business trip later in the morning.

Refusing to get worked up over Jesse's pending response, Betty rationalized that he was probably in the shower, getting ready for work, or maybe he'd even overslept if he'd still been up at three am in the morning. He surely wouldn't think that she didn't care as much as he did because she was sleeping happily and hadn't responded to his message straight away. Before her imagination could run away with her the innocuous little device beeped. Betty almost knocked her cup of coffee over in her haste to snatch the phone up.

**Jesse: Perfect. I get off at five. I'll be home. See you then. I love you.**

Betty smiled at that and sent '**Love you too' **back.

Maybe this was going to be a good day after all.

Even with a killer hangover.

* * *

She'd barely finished knocking when Jesse's apartment door swung open, revealing the man himself. He was barefooted, wearing his favourite pair of jeans and the band T-shirt she usually claimed as a night-shirt on the occasions she managed to stay over.

Noticing what she was looking at, Jesse looked down at his shirt and then back up at her with a shy smile.

"I guess I just wanted to be close to you," He said, "I told you I missed you."

Without a word, Betty walked over to him and enveloped him in a hug, happy and relieved when he accepted her embrace. She let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding as all the tension and pent up angst she'd been feeling over the last four days seemed to melt away. As he wrapped his arms around her, Betty could feel Jesse relaxing also and she realised how much they had both needed this, missed it.

"I'm so, so sorry," Betty muttered into his shoulder.

"Me too babe," He tightened his hold on her briefly before breaking their embrace. "Come on, we should talk," He led her by the hand over to his worn sofa. Once they'd settled themselves, he didn't release her hand and Betty intertwined their fingers.

Jesse twisted round slightly so that he was facing her and could meet her eyes.

"Betty, I owe you an apology," He started. "I was a jerk before, and some of the things I said, I was unfair. I know better. I know that you don't always have a real choice, or at least, a choice that you can responsibly make when it comes to certain things. The fact that you come from a family that you're very close to, but that also puts a lot of demands on you is something I should understand, not attack. So I'm sorry for that, and for walking out on you the way I did. I don't ever want to hurt you or make you unhappy," He finished sincerely, his thumb rubbing small circles on the back of her hand.

"You don't," Betty said quickly. "You don't make me unhappy. My life has been so much better since you became a part of it Jesse," She said urgently, wanting to make sure he understood this.

"Really?" He said, his free hand rubbing through his hair idly. It was a gesture he usually made when he was nervous or unsure of himself. "Because sometimes, I feel like all I do is complicate your life, that maybe you'd be better off..." He trailed off, avoiding her gaze, but she knew what he would have said.

He wondered if she wasn't better off without him.

This was similar to what he'd said to her on Friday, about her being ashamed of him. She knew it was something that she needed to deal with and set him straight on before they could move any further.

"Jesse," Betty started, this time taking both of his hands in her own. "I won't deny that our relationship has been a little more complicated than most, but you have been nothing but good for me and you make me incredibly happy. Please don't doubt that, ever."

He smiled at that and she was glad to see that she seemed to be getting through to him.

"I should apologise to you too." Betty paused, trying to collect her thoughts.

"I'm so anxious to do what's right," She continued, "that I forgot to do what actually _is_ right. And I hurt you very much in the process. Jesse, I have never been ashamed of you. And I'll never ever forgive myself for making you feel that way, even for a moment. You _are_ a priority for me and I'm so sorry that I made you think anything else. I've just expected you to be there all the time, waiting and understanding, but I didn't think about what all that was doing to you."

"Betty, don't be so hard on yourself," He interrupted, immediately jumping to her defence, even against herself. "On Friday, I was upset. A lot of what I said was spoken out of anger."

"Maybe. But I don't think that means it was any less true. I know you want to say that you didn't mean any of it," She added, "but I think you'd just be saying that for my benefit. And I don't want you to do that anymore. I want you to be clear on the fact that I'm very happy and very proud to be with you," Betty said firmly. "I just thought that by keeping us a secret, I'd be protecting you, protecting us." She admitted.

"What do you mean; you were trying to protect us?" Jesse frowned at her curiously.

Betty sighed.

"Jesse, I wasn't exaggerating when I told you about my parents, especially my father. They are not going to be happy about our relationship at first, but you're right."

"Right about what?" He murmured, watching her closely. He was trying to maintain a carefully neutral expression, but Betty didn't miss the half-eager, half-anxious expression in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath Betty steadied herself for the commitment she was about to make.

"You were right about my parents not knowing about us," She said. "I can't keep lying to them. Not if we want to have a real relationship. I owe it to you, to us, to tell them. So that's what I'm going to do. No more sneaking around, no more getting Christina or Hilda to cover. I'm going to tell them the truth and when I go away with you on the 25th, they'll know where I'm going and who I'm going with," She declared.

* * *

Betty couldn't help the smile on her face.

After she'd told Jesse about her decision to tell her parents the truth, he'd tackled her into a kiss. They'd ended up tangled on his couch, kissing with fond leisure. However, he had to get going for band practice soon so they'd reluctantly peeled themselves away from each other. They'd talked and apologised a little more, and Jesse had added that he didn't want her to have to miss Justin's play with her family, and she could just join him for the rest of that weekend.

Betty had been surprised by this piece of generosity, knowing how important that particular gig was to him. But it seemed that now that he was more secure in her affections and about how they both felt about their relationship, he didn't mind so much. When he assured her a second time that he really was fine with it, she agreed to go to the play and said she'd catch a plane to LA straight afterwards.

They'd kissed each other goodbye then with a promise that Betty would come over later that evening, when he was done with band rehearsals.

Now she was home.

She could hear her parents out in the front entry hall and decided to head downstairs to greet them; she hadn't seen them at all today. Betty smiled as she watched her father tenderly kiss her mother's cheek, while he fastened her string of pearls for her.

"Beautiful," Ignacio murmured as he looked at his pretty wife in the hallway mirror.

Rosa smiled up at her husband, touching his hand, before she caught sight of Betty standing halfway down the staircase.

"What on earth are you doing young lady?" Rosa said, her eyes widening in alarm as she looked at Betty's t-shirt and pyjama pants. "Get back up those stairs, get dressed!"

Her mother's response confused her and Betty frowned.

"What for?" She asked.

"We're having dinner with the Meades tonight," Ignacio interjected, "what for indeed."

"What?" Betty said alarmed.

"Oh Elisabetta, don't tell me you forgot," Her mother tutted. "I reminded you yesterday."

Betty tried to think back. Her mother may have mentioned something to her about dinner, but between her night out with Christina, and then everything that happened with Jesse, she must have forgotten.

"What time are we supposed to be there?" She said quickly.

"They're expecting us at eight and it's just gone seven thirty now. You'd better get a move on mjia; I shouldn't like to keep Bradford waiting."

Betty nodded in understanding.

"Just give me five minutes," She said before making a mad dash back up the stairs.

She was almost at the top when she turned around suddenly, bounding back down to where her parents were standing.

"I'm glad you're home Papa," Betty said, dropping a quick kiss on his cheek before dashing off again.

The sound of her parents' warm laughter rang out behind her.

* * *

"So Betty, Claire tells me you're working at ARIEL now as features editor. That's quite an accomplishment in just three short years, congratulations," Bradford Meade commented.

"Thank you Mr. Meade, that's very kind of you," Betty could feel herself blushing and Daniel's amused smirk just confirmed it.

They had not arrived late for dinner at the Meades' mansion as her father had feared and the evening had gone well. She'd been friendly towards Daniel but not paid him any extra attention outside of the general dinner conversation.

After dinner they had retired to the drawing room for coffee.

"Elisabetta has always been very goal-oriented," Ignacio said proudly.

"Now that's an attitude I can admire," Bradford added, "no doubt it runs in the family." The two older men exchanged a knowing look.

"You know Betty; I could do with someone like you on my staff. If that boss of yours isn't careful, I may steal you away for MEADE," Bradford continued, only half-joking.

Betty laughed.

"I'm sure you could make a very persuasive argument. But I'm afraid I'm very stubborn and very loyal."

Bradford gave her a genuine smile.

"That's what I like about you Betty."

"And I suppose if we can't get you to work _for_ Meade," Claire chimed in, "the next best thing would be to turn you _into_ a Meade. We'd like a daughter-in-law like Betty, wouldn't we dear?" Claire remarked to her husband slyly.

Daniel promptly choked on his sip of coffee and Betty turned about forty shades of red.

Bradford laughed.

"Don't mind Claire, Betty," He said good-naturedly, "you'll have to excuse Mrs. Meade's sledgehammer wit."

Betty could only manage to nod, still horribly embarrassed. She'd known the woman for five years, but Betty didn't think she'd ever get used to Claire's forthright nature.

"Daniel, how do you like being back in New York?" Rosa interjected, deftly changing the subject.

"It's been interesting," Daniel said. He cleared his throat, still recovering from his choking spasm. "I've settled in easily enough. Not much has changed, but then again," Daniel paused thoughtfully, "in some ways, a lot of things have. But I'm enjoying it. I think I picked the right time to come back."

Betty noticed him discreetly glance in her direction and she didn't miss the knowing smiles that Bradford and Claire exchanged.

"Although, I have to admit I could do without having to attend all the society parties," He confessed.

Rosa laughed warmly. "I can certainly understand that. They're terribly boring sometimes, no?"

"Extremely," Daniel agreed.

"You're not at all like your father then, darling," Claire remarked. "Bradford used to love those parties. I think he liked to watch all the beautiful girls," She said in a mock stage-whisper.

"Claire," Bradford chided his wife lightly, "if I didn't watch all those beautiful girls I never would have met you, would I?" He gave her a tender look and Claire smiled as her husband kissed her hand.

"True," She conceded, "although I could have done without you also watching Andrea, and Lynette, and oh, what was the last one? _Chrischelle_," She added, with a smile that was bittersweet.

Bradford Meade had had his little flirtations in earlier years. Betty had overheard Mrs. Meade tell her mother once, that she remembered feeling terribly insulted because the women who fell for her husband were so consistently second-rate. They had not known the Meades then but from what Betty understood, his infidelities had started round about the time his elder son, Alex, had died. Claire had been dealing with her own problems and the loss of their child had nearly torn her and Bradford apart. But miraculously, they'd managed to put their marriage back together and Betty could see the love they had for each other was still very much there.

True love really does conquer all then, she mused, and the thought brought a soft smile to her face.

"Well Elisabetta is just the same as Daniel," Rosa continued, glancing over at her warmly. "Just the other day she was complaining to me about having to attend the Bertram's function this Thursday," Rosa confided. "But what can we do? It is expected."

This seemed to peak Claire Meade's interest.

"Well I can't blame you for that one dear. Emily Bertram is terribly pretentious and very dull," She commented with a look of distaste. Then her expression brightened.

"You know, Daniel was going to accompany me to the Bertram's evening," Claire added.

Betty prayed Claire wasn't heading where she suspected. She didn't like the sudden gleam in the other woman's eyes.

"But you know what darling," Claire turned to her son, and Betty knew her suspicions were right. "Why don't you and Betty go together instead?" She offered innocently.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Claire," Ignacio agreed warmly.

Betty, however, quickly tried to politely refuse the suggestion.

"Oh Mrs. Meade, that's not necessary. And I'm sure Daniel would prefer-"

"I don't mind being your date," Daniel cut in. "I mean; you're the only person I really know since I moved back. And the evening would be a lot more fun with a friend," He smiled at her. "We're friends, right Betty?" He threw her own words back at her.

"What do you say Elisabetta?" Her mother asked kindly.

Betty looked around at the room of expectant faces helplessly.

She couldn't help but feel as though her parents and the Meades had conspired to set Daniel and her up like this. However, while Betty wanted to run from the room, Daniel seemed perfectly happy to go along with it.

"Betty?" Her father prompted when she still hadn't responded.

She sighed. There was no way to refuse now without seeming rude or ungracious.

"Sure," She pasted on a resigned smile, "Why not? We can go together."

* * *

**AN 2:** As far as I know (a.k.a from what I've googled), "Tia" means "Aunt". Thanks for reading!


	5. Things fall apart

**Author's note: **To those of you following this story, please accept my apologies for the very long delay between updates. This chapter proved to be a tricky one to write, as the many drafts sitting on my hard drive will testify to. Thanks for your continued support! Hope you enjoy it :).

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter.

* * *

**5**

Betty moved blindly down the familiar passage.

Her eyes were blurry with tears and she tried to remember to keep breathing, all the while feeling as though her chest was being squeezed by a steel vice.

When she brought her first boyfriend, Matt Hartley, home, her father had been polite to the young man but cautious.

Ignacio Suarez was very protective of those he loved, especially his two young daughters. Matt had undergone a friendly interrogation and while her father had never particularly taken to him, he'd liked the fact that Matt came from a good family and that he'd come to ask for Ignacio's approval before they started seeing each other.

Eventually he'd warmed up to Matt and accepted him, even been a little disappointed when Betty had ended the relationship after three years when she graduated from college and Matt went off to do charity work in Africa.

Given that experience and her knowledge of her father's expectations, his temperament and protective nature, she'd known that telling her parents about Jesse was not going to be easy.

But she hadn't been prepared for this.

* * *

"I don't know what you are thinking, Betty. Running around with this boy behind our backs, lying to us for an entire year," Ignacio spoke, his voice dark.

"Papa..." Betty tried to explain.

"No, ninita!" He cut her off sharply. "Did you ever stop to think about the background of the boy? Can you tell me that this _Jesse_ will be able to fit into our family? It seems that all he has done is disregard everything that our family stands for."

"No, Papa," Betty protested urgently. "The decision to keep our relationship a secret was mine!"

"That's even worse," Ignacio shook his head and regarded his wife, who was watching the conversation in quiet astonishment.

"The one thing I've always taught you is to be honest and respectful. That's who we are. But now I learn how you have turned your back on that."

Betty looked down unable to meet her father's gaze.

Her face burned with shame. She was not ashamed of Jesse or of wanting to be with him. But she did regret the fact that she had been lying to her parents. Even Jesse had been against it. But she'd been scared; reluctant to face her father's reaction. So she'd put off the inevitable and probably just made things worse.

"You never would have done something like this before. What does that say about the kind of influence this boy has been? The way he has taken you away from your own," Ignacio continued.

"Papa, you misunderstand," Betty cried desperately.

"Yes, Betty," Her father agreed. "I had thought that I knew my daughter; and that she knew and understood me. But I was mistaken," Ignacio said sadly. "I'm sorry, but I won't accept this."

"Papa please," Betty tried, "Jesse is important to me. If you would just give him a chance; if you would get to know him-"

"I have no interest in getting to know him!" Ignacio snapped. "And whatever he says, I very much doubt he's interested in getting to know you either. You think a boy like that is hanging around because he likes your personality? Have you learned nothing from what we went through with Hilda and Santos!"

"I'm not Hilda, and Jesse is nothing like Santos. He doesn't care about our money. He's not interested in my inheritance."

At this Rosa finally intervened.

"Ignacio please," Her mother spoke soothingly. "We do not want to say anything that we will later regret." Rosa took her husband's hand, trying to calm him. "Elisabetta is a good girl. She has always shown sound judgement. Perhaps we should listen to what she has to say."

"So she can lie to us again," Ignacio said harshly.

"Ignacio..."

"No Rosa, this is where you spoil her. She is a Suarez, and she has a responsibility to her family. I'm not going to allow an ordinary boy to become an obstacle to that."

Betty waited, hardly daring to breathe as the weight of her father's words sunk in.

"I'm sorry Betty," Ignacio continued, "but you are not to see Jesse again."

Betty's head snapped to face her father so quickly it was a wonder she didn't give herself whiplash.

"Papa, I love him," She stared at her parents with wide eyes.

Ignacio released a strange sound.

"You _love_ him," He spat. "What about the love you have for your family?" He challenged her, "And what about Daniel? I've seen you with him, Betty; you're not immune to his charms."

"Daniel is nice enough Papa, but we're just friends. I'm not in love with him," Betty said firmly. She was starting to lose her composure. "I love Jesse," she repeated boldly.

Ignacio shook his head and looked at his wife incredulously.

"I don't believe I'm hearing this," He turned back to Betty.

"Do you know how often your mother and I have talked with the Meades about the possibility...about being able to call each other family, in every sense of the word, through a marriage between our children? And now you are going to take all that way; you would hurt us, disappoint us like that."

Betty was crying now, hot tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," She sobbed, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm sorry I can't be the perfect daughter you want me to be."

"Elisabetta..." Her mother called, trying to offer some comfort.

"But I didn't do this to you, or to Mom," Betty continued, "I never wanted to hurt you. I just...you can't help who you fall in love with," She shrugged weakly.

"Yes, you can," Ignacio countered sternly. "And you will."

Betty drew in a shaky breath, blinking back tears.

"You can't make me be with someone I don't love. You can't force me."

"I am your father!" Ignacio thundered. "I tell you what I want!"

"Papa, please," Betty pleaded. "Don't put me in that position; don't make me choose."

"You've brought this on yourself, ninita," Ignacio said sadly.

"I won't cut Jesse out of my life," Betty choked out. She could feel the tears welling up again.

"Then you must be a stranger to your parents."

Betty swallowed hard, a sudden hollowness deepening in her chest. She wasn't prepared for how much her father's declaration hurt. It was almost too painful to breathe. But she couldn't see any other way.

She nodded faintly and took a few unsteady steps, turning to leave.

"I'm sorry," She whispered finally.

And then she fled; out of the study, down the corridor, and on towards the main entry way, choking back sobs as she went. She was vaguely aware of her mother saying something to her father, berating him, she'd guess, by the tone of her voice. Then Rosa was calling out to her but Betty didn't stop.

She raced down the staircase to where the suitcase she'd packed for her weekend with Jesse was waiting for her.

Was it really only an hour ago that they'd all been sitting in the crowded auditorium, happy together, clapping and cheering for Justin as he danced and sang his way across the stage? It felt like another lifetime now or a dream. Or maybe this whole horrible episode was the dream and any minute she'd wake up from it, Betty thought in vain.

She reached for her suitcase with one hand and wiped at her eyes impatiently with the other. There was nothing for it. Maybe at some point she and her parents could work this out; maybe they would come around.

_Yes_, Betty thought to herself.

Her father may be a proud man, he may be strict and stern, and set in his ways. But he also loved his children very much. And he had always been fair. So she would give him some time, quietly hope, and then talk to him again. For now though, she had a plane to catch.

**Aaaaaaahhhhhh!**

That bone-chilling scream made Betty stop cold.

She turned immediately to face the direction where the sound had come from and her eyes widened in shocked terror.

All the air seemed to escape from her lungs at once and she stood frozen in place, unable to get her muscles to move despite the voice in her head yelling _help her! Help! She needs help!_

Betty couldn't remember much of what happened next, but the one thing she would never forget was the sight of her mother, falling, her petit frame tumbling down to land motionless, body limp, at the bottom of the stairs.

* * *

Daniel hated hospitals.

There was something decidedly unwelcoming about the harsh fluorescent lighting, the white tiles scrubbed to within an inch of their life and the smell of sanitizer and the faintest hint of talcum powder.

But it was the threat of death lurking round every corner that was the most unsettling. The last time Daniel had been in a hospital he'd been getting his stomach pumped after scoring too much acid. He'd nearly died that night, they'd told him later. The time before that hadn't been much better – he'd watched his brother flat-line in the emergency room.

So yeah, he didn't exactly have positive associations when it came to hospitals.

But he pushed that aside now. Despite the instinctive urge to run the other way with the knowledge that bad things could happen here, he'd made his way to St Barnabus's the minute his mother had called, silently praying that this time it wouldn't end badly as it usually did in his experience.

His only thought was to see that the Suarez family was okay, that Betty was okay. He rounded another corridor and found his parents standing in the corridor talking quietly, while Hilda and Bobby were sitting in chairs opposite them.

Hilda was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth; her mascara had run a little indicating that she'd been crying. One hand was splayed protectively over her swollen stomach and Bobby cradled the other, wrapping his free hand around his wife's shoulders, holding her against him in silent support and comfort.

Bobby glanced up briefly at Daniel's arrival, nodding in acknowledgement and offered him a small smile before refocusing his attention on Hilda.

"Oh Daniel," Claire said, pulling him into a hug when she saw him. "You didn't have to, but I'm very glad you came."

"Of course," He murmured, as his mother released him from her embrace.

"What happened?" He asked, keeping his voice low so as not to startle Hilda and Bobby.

"Rosa slipped and fell down the stairs at home," Bradford responded.

"Oh god," Daniel cried, alarmed but still talking in low murmurs, "is Mrs. Suarez going to be alright?"

"She's got a mild concussion but they're more concerned about her back," Claire said. "Ignacio's speaking with the doctors now."

"Her back?" Daniel prompted.

Bradford nodded gravely.

"When Rosa fell, there was some damage to her spine," He said, darting a concerned look towards Bobby and Hilda. "They've scheduled her surgery for tomorrow, provided Rosa's recovered from her concussion by then. But they don't yet know the extent or severity of the damage."

"You mean, she might not be able to..." Daniel trailed off, not wanting to complete the thought.

"No-one's jumping to conclusions just yet," Bradford assured him calmly. "There's every reason for Rosa to make a full recovery. I've told Ignacio that I'll have James Corday fly in for the surgery tomorrow. Corday's a friend. He's also one of the top physicians in the country and the foremost specialist in the physical rehabilitation field."

"Yes," Claire nodded firmly, although her eyes were a little wet. "Rosa will be in excellent hands."

Bradford put a reassuring arm around his wife.

"She's going to be alright, Claire. Everything's going to be fine."

Daniel sighed softly, processing everything his parents had said to him. As he looked over at Hilda and Bobby once more, it occurred to him then that someone was missing.

He turned back to his parents quickly.

"Where's Betty?"

* * *

Just past the cafeteria, and next to the third ward, St Barnabus's housed a small chapel.

It was a modest room, with seven or eight pews and dull beige carpeting that was the standard hospital issue. There was a small altar and the front of the chapel was lit by two oil lamps giving off a supposedly warm and comforting glow.

But Betty was struggling to find any comfort to help distract her from the abyss of her thoughts as she sat alone in the third row. She felt sick, and anxious, and scared, guilt twisting in her gut like a knife.

She knew that no matter what anyone said, her mother's accident had been her fault. Rosa had been running after Betty when she'd lost her footing on the stairs.

Betty clutched the 'B' necklace her mother had given her that much harder, pressing the symbol into her palm hard enough to leave an imprint, and prayed for guidance, prayed for her mother to be alright.

She was at a loss for what else to do. Her mother was hurt. There was a chance she might not be able to walk again. A single tear dripped down her cheek, chased quickly by another.

This was her fault.

She had been so wrapped up in her own sorrow and frustration over what had happened, she hadn't spared a thought for anyone else. She wasn't the only one who would suffer from her decision to walk out.

Why hadn't she stopped when her mother called out to her?

Betty found herself bargaining.

Trying to make all kinds of deals with the man upstairs so long as he protected her mother: she'd babysit every weekend for Hilda and Bobby, she'd never tell another lie again, she'd be a good girl and obey her parents, she'd stop trying to avoid Mrs. Bertram's phone calls...the list in her head went on and on.

Why had she kept on walking?

Betty wondered if she _was_ being selfish. Was her choice the right one when it seemed to be causing so much hurt, so much unhappiness?

She just didn't know anymore.

With trembling fingers, Betty took out her mobile and dialled Jesse's number. She wiped at her eyes impatiently and forced herself to stop crying.

He picked up on the seventh ring.

"Betty?" Jesse said. There was a little interference and a lot of noise in the background. It sounded like he was at a party.

"Hey, it's me," She began in a very hoarse voice. "I know you're probably busy, but I just needed to tell you that..." Her voice broke as she thought about her mother lying there in the hospital bed.

"Babe, aren't you supposed to be on a plane somewhere over the mid-west right now?" Jesse's voice came over the line again. He sounded confused.

Betty took a shaky breath, trying to keep her composure.

"Yeah, I mean, that's part of what I need to...Jesse, I'm not gonna make it. I'm not coming to LA."

"What! Why? Betty, what's happened?"

"Jesse, it's my mom; she-" Betty almost lost it completely; saying the words out loud drove home the reality of what had happened, what might still happen.

"What did you say, babe? I didn't quite catch...Mark man, piss off!" She heard Jesse say, clearly distracted by what was going on around him. "So just give me five minutes! Tell McCann I'll be there in a sec'. I'm talking to my girlfriend." It sounded like there was some sort of brief scuffle then Jesse spoke again.

"I'm sorry about that, Betty. Look it's really loud over here and McCann's asking to see us. Can I call you back in ten minutes?"

Betty gave up on explaining what happened in any comprehensible way.

"No Jesse, its...its fine. I just...I'm sorry I can't make it but things are happening here... and I...I...I'll just talk to you when you get back to New York," She concluded in a rush and then hung up, faintly hearing him ask again what was going on, in those last few seconds before she snapped her phone shut.

Her cheeks blazed. She hoped she hadn't sounded as stupid as she felt, but she just couldn't deal with Jesse right now. Not without completely breaking down.

Betty idly glanced at the time on her phone and realised she'd been sitting in the little hospital chapel for an hour. Standing on feet that weren't entirely steady, she offered one final word of prayer before turning to leave.

She moved on autopilot through the hospital corridors as she made her way back to her mother's room, still lost in her thoughts. She just wished she could receive some sort of sign or clue as to what was the right thing to do.

Swimming inside her head, she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings and ended up knocking into someone. A hand reached out to steady her and was soon joined by a familiar voice.

"Betty, hey."

"Daniel?" Her eyes widened in surprise.

"My mom called and told me what happened," He answered her unspoken question. She nodded dumbly and started walking again.

Daniel fell into step beside her.

"We were wondering where you'd got to," He said softly. "My parents just left; Hilda and Bobby too. Now that your mom's settled for the night, your dad said they might as well go. And he didn't want Hilda under any extra stress because of the baby," He filled her in quietly.

"But you stayed," Betty noticed.

Daniel shrugged.

"Your father's been very kind to me; I thought I'd stick around a while longer, see if I could be of any use. I was just fetching this for him," He gestured to the cup of coffee in his left hand that Betty had failed to notice until now, "when I found you."

"I was in the chapel," Betty explained. She looked away from him feeling oddly flustered. "Thank you, Daniel," She continued, "for looking out for my dad like that. That's very sweet," She added lamely and immediately flushed as the words left her lips.

Betty didn't understand what was wrong with her.

She was trembling slightly, and felt like she was about to be sick. That or she'd either burst into tears or start screaming, and she really didn't want to do any of the three in front of Daniel. He seemed to pick up on her distress because he stopped suddenly and then gently tugged on her sleeve, making her stop too.

"Betty, are _you_ alright?" He asked gently.

She waved him off and tried to continue walking.

He was looking at her with such tenderness, such genuine concern that it was making the whole thing worse. The ache in her chest was starting to rise. Swelling into her throat. Burning in her eyes. She had to get away from him.

He wouldn't let her.

"Betty?" He asked again, carefully.

And Betty finally broke down.

She shook uncontrollably, overcome by a flood of much needed release and started sobbing. It was horrible, and embarrassing, but Daniel just gathered her into his arms, pulling her forward against his chest, and Betty clung to him finally letting all her guilt, and fear, and confusion wash over both of them in a tidal wave of pent up emotion. She allowed herself to take comfort from his warm strength and feel like it was okay to let go for just a minute.

She didn't know how long they stood like that, but when she noticed her sobs had subsided and she was no longer shaking, Betty slowly pulled away from Daniel, summoning back her composure.

Daniel didn't say anything, just extended his free hand to her – he'd somehow managed to keep a secure hold of the coffee cup during her little moment.

She took it and was reassured by the way he interlocked their fingers, his clasp warm and strong.

"Come on," He said, starting to guide her down the corridor. "Let's go see your mom."

* * *

Rosa had been drifting in and out of consciousness, but she was pretty lucid when they got to her room. Betty knew her mother was in a lot of pain and had to be feeling rather miserable, but she still managed a faint smile when she and Daniel entered the room. He handed Ignacio the coffee, who accepted it gratefully before leaving the room, saying something about checking in with the doctors again.

Daniel sat with her and Rosa for a while before excusing himself to give Betty and her mother a moment alone.

As the door clicked shut quietly behind him, Rosa reached for the hand he had been holding and Betty realised that she hadn't released Daniel's hand since he'd offered it to her in the corridor.

"Elisabetta?"

She squeezed her mother's hand and felt the tears begin to well again.

"I'm so, so sorry, Mom," Betty murmured.

"Oh ninita," Rosa raised her free hand to Betty's cheek, wiping at the tears there. "Don't cry, don't cry my baby."

"Mom, this is my fault. If I hadn't-"

"Stop that Elisabetta," Her mother's voice was hoarse but firm. "It is not your fault that I have two left feet. It was an accident."

"But it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been running after me; if I had stopped."

Rosa let out a loud, impatient sigh and then grimaced as the movement jarred her sensitive ribs.

Betty was immediately on the alert.

"Are you alright? Should I get a doctor? I think Daniel's still sitting outside, I could get him to..." She babbled.

"Calm down, ninita. I'm fine. Well, not fine. I rather feel like a truck ran me over, but I'll live," She added at seeing Betty's worried expression. "All that I want now, is to talk with my daughter."

Betty smiled weakly at that and tightened her hold on her mother's hand.

"What am I going to do with you, Elisabetta? You've always seemed to feel that you have to be the one to keep the world going round the right way. It was my choice to go after you, ninita. You are my family. I couldn't just let you walk away. Not like that."

"I didn't want that either," Betty said urgently. "But Papa...he's being so unreasonable."

"Don't be too hard on your father, Elisabetta. He loves you so much and he only wants what's best for you," Rosa said gently.

"I know," Betty acknowledged, "He's always taken really good care of us, always been there for me and Hilda. I know he means well. But this is different. He can't just expect me to turn my feelings on and off like a tap. That's not how love works. I mean, he should know, look at the two of you."

"Of course, your father and I love each other very much. But we didn't start out that way."

"What?" Betty stared at her mother with wide eyes.

That brought her up short.

"Mom, what do you mean?" She said, slowly.

Rosa took in a deep breath.

"Elisabetta, your father and I had an arranged marriage. It's a tradition in the Suarez family: the parents always choose their son or daughter-in-law. Your grandparents picked me, and your father was from a respectable family, so my parents accepted. I had always thought that when I married, it would be because I was in love. But in our case, love was not there from the beginning. I was lucky though. I gave him no reason to, but your father was always so good to me, always kind and attentive. He became the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Well, he and you and your sister of course," Rosa's voice unconsciously softened.

Betty gaped at her mother, not sure how to respond to this revelation. She'd always imagined her parents had been wildly in love from the beginning, and that was the reason they had gotten married. She never would have believed that their marriage had not been their own choice and only afterwards had their love for each other grown.

"Why didn't you ever tell us?" She managed to get out.

"I guess we didn't think it was relevant. We love each other, the rest didn't matter," Rosa said honestly.

Before Betty could respond, the door opened and a nurse walked in, coming to check her mother's vitals.

"I should let you get some rest," She said finally.

"I am feeling a little tired," Rosa admitted.

Betty nodded.

"Well, I'll say goodnight then. But I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning, ok? I love you, Mama."

"I love you too, ninita," Rosa said, already starting to sound drowsy. "And Elisabetta?"

"Yes?"

"Try and talk to your father. This fighting is not good for either of you."

Betty released a long, slow, breath.

"Ok," She agreed, "I'll try." She kissed her mother's cheek tenderly, glancing at her one last time with a small smile.

* * *

Daniel took her home shortly afterwards. Her father had insisted on spending the night at the hospital.

As he walked her up to the Suarez's front door, he offered to stay with her, if she didn't want to be home alone and Betty gratefully accepted.

She was exhausted and still shaky, not quite recovered from all the emotional upheaval and surprise revelations of the evening. And she was starving. Betty hadn't eaten any dinner, planning to just eat on the plane after Justin's play. Obviously, that hadn't happened.

Daniel guided her to the living room and then asked her where the kitchen was. She offered to help but he insisted she stay put, saying he'd manage to muddle through. He returned a little while later with sandwiches and tea.

They ended up hanging out on the couch.

She hadn't wanted to go to sleep so they watched movies, most of them from her Disney collection.

She must have nodded off at some point, because suddenly Daniel was lifting her up into his arms and softly asked her where her room was. She groggily mumbled a reply and then Daniel was carrying her upstairs.

He laid her gently down and tucked her into bed, telling her that he'd be sleeping on the couch, just downstairs, if she needed anything.

Betty's last thought, before she finally succumbed to sleep, was that maybe she'd gotten her sign after all.

* * *

**AN 2: **I know Ignacio seems out of character, but it's necessary for the story. And this is an AU so I'm asking for a little latitude here ;). Thanks for reading!


	6. Love me, don't leave me

**Author's note: **Thanks so much for your encouraging comments!

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

**6**

He was waiting for her after work; standing outside the little coffee shop she usually stopped at on her way in to the office. Betty hesitated, about to duck back inside the glass doors before Jesse spotted her.

It had been two months since that weekend she was supposed to spend in LA. Two months since her mother's accident. Two months since she'd broken things off with him.

Betty ached at the sight of him.

Dressed in jeans, one of his favourite band t-shirts and a sports jacket to ward off the cold, he stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the business suits. He leaned lazily against the wall behind him, sipping idly at the cup of coffee in his hand and looked cool and confident. Only his eyes betrayed any anxiety, as he intently scanned the crowds milling on the pavement, clearly waiting for her to come out.

That should have been her cue to dash back inside and avoid any awkward, painful confrontation, but she'd hesitated a moment too long.

Hazel eyes collided with dark brown as their gaze met. Jesse went very still as the realisation sunk in that he'd found her and then he was off like a shot, weaving like lightning through pedestrians and traffic as he crossed the street.

Betty gasped as he narrowly avoided being knocked over by an errant taxicab, the driver yelling abuse after him as Jesse simply slid across the hood and kept on running, barely registering the near-accident.

"Betty!" He cried, as he finally reached her. A look of relief washed over his features.

She slapped his arm. Hard.

"Ow!" Jesse looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "That's my playing arm," He complained, clutching the bruised appendage.

"Are you crazy?" She yelled at him. "What are you thinking, running through traffic like that! You could have been hurt!"

"I'd brave a lot worse to be able to see you again," Jesse declared. "Besides, I think you did more damage to me just now. That's some arm you've got on you, babe."

Betty blushed slightly, at his familiar teasing tone and at the use of the endearment. It reminded her of everything she'd walked away from two months earlier and she looked away. No good could come out of talking with Jesse. The only way this would work is if both of them had a clean break. She quickly looked away.

"Betty..." Jesse murmured, evidently reading her mind. He tried to reach out for her and she immediately jerked away at the contact, as though she'd been burned.

"You should go Jesse," She said, "I can't do this with you."

"And I can't _not_ do this with you," He sounded frustrated and Betty didn't miss the flash of hurt in his eyes.

"Jesse..."

"Do you have any idea what its like," He cut her off, "to have the person you love completely turn their back on you; without even giving you a chance to respond or to fix things?" He said sounding pained.

"That weekend, I got back from LA, and somewhere between the gig and your mum's accident you suddenly decided that it was over. It's been two months now Betty. You won't see me; you won't take my calls or answer my emails. And I don't even know what I did wrong."

"Jesse, you haven't done anything wrong," She said, desperately wishing that this conversation was over and hating that they were about to go through the whole, painful ordeal all over again; that she was going to hurt him again.

"This just isn't going to work," She continued, "We're not going to work. I told you."

"Yeah, and that's about all you've told me. If you're gonna walk out on us, I think I deserve to know why," Jesse looked at her, his eyes pleading. "And not some cop out which I have a hard time believing considering we were together for a whole year."

Betty had the grace to look a little sheepish. She knew Jesse had a valid point.

"Betty please," He continued, evidently sensing that her resolve to not speak with him was weakening, "I'm just asking for ten minutes. Can we just go somewhere and talk?" Jesse pleaded.

She sighed. She knew that talking wouldn't change anything, wouldn't change her mind. But maybe it would help Jesse get some closure, help him to let her go and move on.

"Ok," She said finally, "we can talk."

* * *

Jesse unlocked the door to his flat and Betty was assaulted by a wave of memories.

Jesse playing his new song for her, in his boxers, while she shared his bowl of Cap N' Crunch; the time the guys walked in on them when they were making out on the couch; cooking dinner together in the kitchen; the night he made her watch Children of the Corn and then jumped out at her from behind the couch, scaring her half to death when she came out of the bathroom; Jesse baking chocolate brownies for her that time she had a bad day at work and sharing a tub of ice cream with her while she vented; spending the weekend taking care of him when he had the flu; the night the power went out and they ended up playing strip poker by candlelight.

She felt her cheeks flush at the thought of what followed after that particular evening.

"You okay?" Jesse said, noticing she appeared to be in some sort of daze.

Betty blinked, snapping herself back from her thoughts.

"Yeah, fine."

Jesse nodded unsurely and wandered into the kitchen, leaving Betty to come further into the living room.

The flat was exactly as she remembered, although it was messier than she'd ever seen it before, even when the rest of the guys had been hanging out there. There was a pile of dirty dishes on the counter, and last night's take-out containers, two beer bottles and one or two mugs littered the coffee table. Jesse also seemed to be using the couch as his clothes hamper.

"Sorry about the mess," Jesse's voice was suddenly behind her. He held out a cup of coffee to her. He hadn't bothered to make a cup for himself. Betty hadn't even noticed him making a pot, too caught up in the sudden rush of memories.

"It turns out I tidy up even less when I'm depressed," He tried to joke.

Betty didn't say anything and found herself a free spot on the couch. She kept her eyes trained on the mug in her hands.

Jesse sighed and took a seat next to her.

"How's your mom doing?" He asked.

"She's doing a lot better," Betty sipped at her cup, grateful for the momentary reprieve.

"Mom started her physical rehabilitation this month. It hasn't been easy, but she puts on a brave face and she's strong. She probably has one or two more surgeries in her future, and another round of rehabilitation, but they expect she'll make a full recovery and be walking again, sometime in the next few months," She finished, with a genuine smile on her face.

"That's great Betty," Jesse said sincerely. "I'm really glad for your mom and your family." He didn't say anything else, just watched her with a quiet, thoughtful expression on his face.

"What about you?" Betty said, hurrying to fill the silence. "How are things with the band?"

"Everything's fine. We made a good impression at the Seven gig, made some contacts. It was good."

"Good," She repeated lamely.

"I love you, Betty." Jesse blurted, his voice quiet but firm.

She almost choked on her sip of coffee.

"Jesse..."

"Do you still love me?" He continued, undeterred.

"Jesse, don't do this."

"It's a simple question, Betty. Why can't you just answer it?"

Betty bit her bottom lip. She couldn't lie to him.

"Yes," She conceded, feeling the ache in her chest deepen. "I love you."

Jesse released a breath.

"Then if we both love each other, why are we apart?" He asked her.

"Because it's not that simple," Betty put her cup down. "Jesse, how can we be together if it's hurting the people around us?" She said. Suddenly it seemed like a better idea to get this conversation over with as quickly as possible.

"You're talking about your family," Jesse murmured quietly.

"Yeah, I am," Betty swallowed hard over the sudden lump in her throat. "When I'm with you, I'm so happy. But my family is miserable. And I just, I can't do that to them, Jesse. Especially now."

"So you're just going to walk out on us?" He was starting to get upset now.

"I'm sorry, Jesse," Betty said; tears pricked behind her eyelids. "I'm so sorry. I thought that this could work; that my family would accept it. But I was wrong, and I should have known better," She said, a bittersweet smile on her face.

"My parents have given me so much, you know?" She continued. "They love me; there's nothing they haven't done for me, and they just want what's best for me. After everything, I don't have the right to make them unhappy."

"Betty..."

She got to her feet.

"That's why this has to be it," She concluded sadly. "I should go now."

* * *

It was the type of building you could easily miss; a real little whole in the wall type place. But Betty loved the cosy little pub-cafe with good food, a relaxed ambiance and if you were there on the right night, some great live jazz. Daniel was seated at a booth in the window and Betty carefully weaved her way between the little pub tables towards him.

This had become something of a regular thing for the two of them.

Since the accident, Betty had been dividing her time between work and helping to care for her mother. Things with her father were still on shaky ground, but they were talking and the ice seemed to be thawing now that she wasn't seeing Jesse anymore.

However, Betty's social life was basically non-existent.

She hadn't much felt like being around people; the situation with her mom making her feel anxious and the situation with Jesse making her feel upset. Neither of which made her particularly good company on a night out, as Christina had learned the hard way.

Her Scottish friend had tried to cheer her up, taking her out for another night on the town and even trying to set her up on one or two dates.

"_Come on, Bet-ty," She'd said, drawing the two syllables out. "It's been five months since you broke up with Jesse. There's no point in lettin' the lad go if you're not going to at least try to get over him!"_

Christina had eventually let her be, saying Betty knew where to find her if she needed anything. But Christina wasn't the only one who had noticed that Betty seemed rather down lately.

That was when Daniel had started hanging out with her.

At first, he'd just come by the house and they'd spend a little while talking. Betty had been reluctant initially, aware of Daniel's romantic interest in her, and had tried to get their chats over with as quickly as possible. But Daniel was not to be deterred.

He didn't back off, but he surprised her by keeping their interaction completely platonic, not even playfully flirting with her. He just let her talk about whatever she wanted to talk about, and didn't push or pressure her to discuss things she didn't want to discuss. His visits gradually grew longer, sometimes he'd even stay for dinner, and Betty found herself starting to relax around him. She even started looking forward to his visits.

After the third month, he'd suggested they get out of the house and go out once in a while. They'd ended up getting together twice a week, not necessarily on the same days because of various other commitments, and would go out to a restaurant or cafe like the one they were at tonight.

Sometimes, they would deliberately go to whatever was the latest, hottest night spot in town, just so they could make fun of how pretentious the place was. Daniel always had her in stitches by the time the bill came, and when the stuffy waiter sneered at them in distaste, that only made them laugh harder.

When she was with Daniel she could just have the rest of the world go away for a while. She didn't have to think about Jesse or her family and the choices she'd made.

Daniel was safe.

At least, that's what she'd thought - until tonight.

It was at the end of the meal and they were having coffee, when Daniel brought the subject up.

"You know Betty, I've really enjoyed hanging out with you the past couple of months," He started.

Betty nodded agreeably, although alarm bells were starting to go off in her head.

"Me too," She said and then quickly added, "you've been a really good friend."

Daniel smiled.

"Well, I know the last five months haven't been easy for you; worrying about your mom and everything. I'm glad I could be there for you."

Betty sipped at her cup and waited. She had a strong feeling she knew where this was headed, but she wasn't going to put it out there before he did.

"I know we've only known each other a few months," He continued, "but honestly, I feel closer to you than I have to anyone."

He reached for her hand that was resting on the table and Betty felt her breath hitch, feeling somewhere between dread and anticipation.

"I think we've become pretty good friends," Daniel said, his azure eyes wide and sincere, "but I was wondering if we could also be good as something more."

And there it was. What she'd been hoping to avoid.

Betty's first instinct was to jerk her hand out of his grasp and run from the table. But she resisted that impulse and made herself think through things calmly and rationally. She realized she'd been wilfully naive, thinking Daniel wouldn't try to pursue her again. After all, she remembered the looks he'd given her the night they went to the Bertram's function and his subtle flirting. And in the time they'd spent together, he'd never mentioned a girlfriend or any other women he was potentially interested in.

But what was she going to do, now that the question of romance was back on the table, and her biggest reason for not indulging Daniel's romantic intentions was no longer there?

"Betty?"

"Hmm?"

She blinked and realized Daniel had been saying something to her.

"I said; would you let me take you out on Saturday night? On a date," He was watching her hopefully.

Betty bit her bottom lip.

"Daniel, we're friends..." She tried.

"I know," He nodded slightly. "But sometimes friends can evolve quite successfully into more."

He offered her another charming smile.

"Daniel..."

"I'm just asking for a chance, Betty. It's one date. Why don't we just try it and see where it leads?" He said.

Betty had no idea how to answer him. She found herself assaulted by a barrage of voices.

_Do you still love me?_

_There's no point lettin' the lad go if you're not going to at least try to get over him!_

_Love was not there from the beginning._

_He became the greatest thing to ever happen to me. _

_I don't have the right to make them unhappy._

Giving herself a mental shake, she forced herself to drown the voices out.

"Betty?" Daniel prompted, gently.

She squeezed his hand briefly and managed a small smile.

"Can I think about it?" She asked, hesitantly.

Daniel gave her the shiest little smile and then planted a light kiss on her hand.

"Of course."


	7. The infamous leather couch

**Author's note:** So sorry for the delay! Real life ambushed me on the way to the computer. Some mild sexual content in this chapter, but nothing that I think warrants an M rating. Just thought I'd give a head's up to be safe.

**Disclaimer:** Pretty sure I still own absolutely nothing! No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**7**

By all appearances, their first date had gone smoothly.

He'd taken Betty to dinner at Masa and then to the theatre, rounding off the evening with coffee at a fashionable street cafe. They'd kept the conversation light, talking about their work, the play, and about their shared love of the city, and Daniel had done his best to be witty and charming.

The whole evening felt incredibly weird and artificial.

Now it was almost midnight and he was walking Betty up to her door, close enough that their arms brushed against each other as they moved. The spring evening had grown cooler and Daniel had given Betty his suit jacket, concerned that the pretty cardigan she wore over her dress would do little to protect her from the sudden chill in the air.

"Thanks for tonight," She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Thank _you_," Daniel murmured, fighting off a throbbing of dread at her expression and determined to keep up the suave act even though the whole thing felt off.

They were almost at her front door now and Daniel was loath to reach it, because then the date would be over and it would have been a definite flop.

But before he could start beating himself up over it, he was startled out of his thoughts by a sudden movement beside him. Betty must have been distracted because she missed a step and tripped, falling face first to land on her front steps. Daniel tried to catch her, grabbing her arm, but he was a little too slow. Her momentum ended up taking them both down in an awkward tumble.

There was a stunned silence as they took in the position they'd landed in.

Betty was on all fours, having reached her hands out in front of her to break her fall. But she'd turned her head round to look back at him. Daniel was practically on top of her, their faces only a breath away from each other. He knew that he'd only have to lean forward slightly and his lips could taste hers. He wondered how Betty would react if he did just that.

She started to turn over so that she could sit on the steps, although Daniel still made no motion to move off or away from her, when the front door swung open and there stood Ignacio Suarez.

"Betty? What on earth...?" The older man looked at them with wide eyes and Daniel realised how his position with Betty must look – him on his knees, leaning over her; Betty almost flat on her back, looking up at him.

"Mr. Suarez!" Daniel said, quickly. "This isn't what it looks like!" The minute the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to kick himself for using such a clichéd line, even if it was the truth.

Betty's father didn't say anything, simply arched an eyebrow at them.

"I fell, Papa," Betty explained. "Daniel tried to catch me but I ended up pulling him down with me."

Ignacio looked from Betty to Daniel, his expression betraying nothing. Daniel was about to make another attempt to explain when Rosa's voice called out from somewhere further in the house.

"Ignacio; stop frightening the children and leave them be." It sounded like she was smiling.

The older man's stern expression finally melted away to reveal an amused smile.

"Don't make yourself uneasy, Daniel," He said good-naturedly, "I trust that your intentions are honourable?"

"Yes sir," Daniel said firmly.

Ignacio nodded.

"Good. Although you'd be more convincing if you weren't still practically on top of my daughter."

Daniel felt himself flush with embarrassment and moved quickly to get off of her while the older man's laughter rang in his ears as he wandered back into the house.

Sitting beside her on the steps now, Daniel noticed that Betty was turned slightly away from him, her shoulders hunched and shaking.

He felt his chest painfully constrict at the thought that she was upset; and all because he'd been too much of a dazed idiot to react appropriately.

He was about to apologise when he heard something unexpected.

A giggle.

She was laughing!

Daniel was too caught off guard to do anything but gape at her stupidly. Then she looked up at him, her cheeks rosy, her eyes dancing, and he started laughing too.

Just like that, the tension of the evening, his disappointment at the awkwardness of the date, and even his embarrassment at being caught by her father in a compromising position didn't seem to matter.

They eventually calmed down and Daniel draped his arm around her, bringing her closer against his side.

"I'm so sorry Betty," He said, breaking the comfortable silence. "I think I went about tonight all wrong. I should have done something more natural for our first date. I promise; next time will be better."

He felt her stiffen just a little against him and it made him pause.

"Would you like to try again?" He added, a little diffidently now.

She pulled away from him and Daniel immediately missed the contact.

Betty looked at him thoughtfully.

She was drowning in his jacket which looked ridiculously large on her, her cheeks were still flushed from laughing, her glasses had fogged up a little, and Daniel noticed that she'd skinned up both of her knees when she fell.

She was the loveliest thing he'd ever seen.

From inside the house he could hear Rosa and Ignacio's warm laughter. Betty briefly looked in the direction of the sound, a small smile dancing on her lips, before bringing her gaze back to Daniel.

"Ok," She said finally, "let's try again."

* * *

It should have been no more than a kiss.

They'd both had a long, crazy week. Betty had been out of town for three days due to her work and Daniel had been pretty busy himself. He'd missed her and when the week finally came to an end, he really wanted to see her.

But he was exhausted and didn't feel up to going out somewhere. Instead, he'd suggested they have dinner at his loft and to his delighted surprise, she'd agreed.

They'd been dating for three months now, their second and third dates having gone much better than the first. But Betty had never wanted to come to his place before, not even when they'd just been friends.

Tonight, however, had been different.

She'd come over after work for a late supper of Chinese takeaway that he'd laid out on paper plates on a picnic blanket on the floor, with a few candles placed strategically around the living room. He had stolen some of her sweet & sour shrimp and tried to predict the fortune cookies, which gave them both a laugh.

Things had gotten a little awkward when they'd settled down to watch _The Princess Bride_ on his home entertainment system. Neither of them seemed to know quite what to do about the seating arrangements and at first sat stiffly at opposite ends of his large, leather couch.

Daniel mentally slapped himself for behaving like a teenager on his first date, wanting to close the distance between them but cowering at the last minute. He'd never been one for cuddling with previous girlfriends, largely because he found it uncomfortable and hated that terrible prickling sensation when the circulation returned to his arm.

But he wanted to cuddle with Betty.

Twenty minutes into the movie, either one or both of them – Daniel wasn't sure which – had decided they were being silly and she ended up relaxing against his side, his arm wrapped around her.

Daniel had started reciting some of his favourite lines along with the movie and when Betty joined in at the part of "It's inconceivable!" he couldn't resist leaning down to tenderly kiss her cheek, finding her utterly adorable.

However, Betty had chosen that moment to turn her head in his direction and so instead of her cheek, his lips met hers without warning. The unexpected sensation had shocked them both.

Daniel couldn't decide what was best to do.

Betty had seemed rather shy about showing physical affection. At the end of their fourth date, she couldn't get away from him fast enough after his attempted kiss. After that, having been thoroughly rebuffed, Daniel had let Betty dictate the pace of their physical relationship, not wanting to pressure her or embarrass himself again.

So far, she hadn't wanted to move beyond any innocent, innocuous touches; a hand on her back or knee, or at the nape of her neck; a hug or chaste kiss on the cheek. It wasn't what Daniel was used to, and at times it was very frustrating, but he was prepared to wait for Betty.

She was worth it and although he was longing to kiss her, to make love to her, he was also enjoying getting to know her as the woman he was rapidly falling in love with, without getting caught up in the physical aspect of their relationship.

After the last few months though, Daniel was starting to suspect that Betty's reluctance to start a physical relationship with him was about more than just shyness on her part. She was with him, and yet he felt as though he didn't have all of her; she was holding a part of herself back and not just in a physical sense.

He could understand why she would have reservations about him. In the past, he'd treated women as objects to be pursued, conquered and then discarded. From what she'd said to him about the Piper triplets, Betty was clearly aware of his former reputation. But he'd changed in the past seven years, chosen to be better, and he was trying hard to show Betty that she could trust him with her heart and her body.

Their accidental kiss just now though, had changed everything.

It was their first kiss, Daniel realised belatedly. They stared at each other for a stretch of time, the film still playing in the background though neither of them paid it any attention now. Then Betty lightly bit down on her perfect, full lower lip.

It was Daniel's undoing.

All further thought fled from him as he leaned in to kiss her; his kisses hungry, urgent, almost clumsy in their neediness, and a swell of pleasure and yearning rose up in him when he felt Betty start to kiss him back. His hand clutched the back of her head and his body pushed hers backwards eagerly, easing her down onto her back on the couch, moving with her so they didn't break their embrace.

She grunted against his mouth when her back hit the leather upholstery of the couch. That was when he began to nip and lick at her full bottom lip, demanding entrance. Her lips parted and he was devouring her, fighting to get closer in a way that made him feel as though he was burning up inside.

When his hands slipped between them so he could unbutton her blouse, though, something changed.

Betty gasped when his hands caressed the skin of her belly, sliding up towards her chest. She'd been clutching at his shoulders but now she started pushing him away, her entire body tensing. Feeling her pushing insistently at his shoulders, Daniel realized that she wasn't responding to him anymore, in fact, she seemed to be panicking. Though it pained him to do so, he immediately moved off of her, sitting up next to her. He was panting slightly and flushed.

Betty sat up also, drawing her knees into her chest. She too was breathing hard and couldn't seem to meet his gaze.

He couldn't help but release an anguished groan of frustration as he got to his feet.

"Daniel?" She murmured timidly into the charged silence surrounding them.

Daniel took a deep breath trying to calm his pounding heart and temper his arousal.

"It's ok," He said gently, his voice a little thicker than usual. "Really; I just need a minute; then we can talk, ok?" He gave her a tight smile and then disappeared into his bathroom.

He spent a few minutes splashing his face with cold water and getting his libido under control. When he went back out into the living room, Betty was in the same position except that her hands were now covering her face – she was crying.

The sight of it absolutely annihilated him from the inside out.

"Oh baby," Daniel said, forgetting his earlier frustration and rushing to her side. "Come here."

He pulled her into his arms, ignoring her slight resistance. She shook against his chest and Daniel held her more tightly against him, brushing a few kisses into her hair.

"Betty, please don't cry," He said thickly. "I'm sorry. I got carried away. I wasn't trying to, I mean, you know, don't you, that I wasn't trying to pressure you into..."

"No, no," Betty interrupted him. She pulled away from him, sniffing a little as she tried to stop crying. "I know you would never force me into anything. It's my fault. I didn't mean to be a tease," Her voice was starting to wobble again and he could hear the tears rising in her throat.

"I'm so sorry Daniel," She choked out, "You're...wonderful and I'm just a mess. I'm horrible. I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

Daniel gathered her back into his arms. He hated seeing her so upset.

"Betty, don't" He said roughly. "You have nothing to apologize for. And don't say those things about yourself. You _are_ wonderful. You're the most amazing woman I've ever known," He said sincerely, desperately wishing that his words could somehow make this better. But if anything, they seemed to make her more upset. Betty was shaking uncontrollably now and clinging to Daniel as though he were a lifeline.

So he held her, and rocked her, and murmured soothing words until her crying had lessened and she'd grown still against his chest. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Daniel stroking a hand though her hair or rubbing circles into her back. Then Betty shifted a little, trying to get out of the protective circle of his arms.

He reluctantly released her from his embrace and she settled herself at the other end of the couch.

"I'm sorry I ruined tonight," She sniffed up at him.

"You didn't ruin anything," Daniel said immediately.

Ignoring the distance she'd put between them, he moved close to her again and tenderly cupped her tear-stained cheek.

"Betty, I was the one that pushed too hard, too fast. I just, I wanted you so much, I couldn't think straight," He admitted.

She looked away from him and Daniel frowned. He had no idea if this was the right move to make, but after what had just happened, he knew he needed to voice his concerns. Her reaction had been too severe. Now more than ever, he felt certain that there was more going on here than Betty just not being ready to sleep with him.

"Betty, is it alright if we discuss this a little?" He ventured.

She looked up at him apprehensively. "What do you mean?"

Daniel cleared his throat nervously.

"You know that I would never rush or pressure you," He started. "I respect you. I value your feelings. As much as I want to be with you, I'll wait until _you_ feel ready to be close to me. You're too important to me to mess things up," He gave her a smile there.

"But," Daniel paused and drew in a breath before he continued.

"I can't help but feel that there's something more going on here," He admitted. "Something that's not just about our relationship being new and wanting to take our time with things. Whatever it is, it's obviously upsetting to you. And I think it's the reason you've been keeping me at arm's length."

"Not all women want to jump into a physical relationship right away, Daniel," She said, a little defensively, "And I thought you just said you were fine taking things slow."

"I am," Daniel said immediately, "if that's all it is. But I don't think that's the case. And I wasn't just talking about sex. We have a good time together, but you don't let me in. Not really. And sometimes, I can't help but get the feeling you'd rather be anywhere but here."

Betty didn't say anything. At his words her gaze grew distant, as though she were looking through him at things he couldn't see.

Daniel couldn't stand to see her look so lost. There was no reason for him to identify that particular emotion in her demeanour, but he did. She looked lost. And he didn't understand why.

With a sigh, Daniel wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. She fit perfectly, the top of her head neatly tucked under his chin.

"Don't shut me out, Betty," He pleaded with her, dropping a kiss on to her temple. "I promise, whatever it is, I'll be there for you, no matter what. We can work it out together. Just...talk to me, tell me what's going on."

* * *

Daniel shook his head in amusement as he mopped up the last of the spilt coffee that had been creeping dangerously close to Betty's laptop.

She'd been telling him about an idea she had for a feature article and got a little too excited, gesticulating wildly as she couldn't seem to contain her enthusiasm. At one point her hand had flung out, knocking everything clean off the low coffee table.

Daniel had been unable to stop the rumble of laughter escaping from his chest as he saw Betty's shocked expression at what she'd done. Her cheeks pinked and her mouth actually formed a surprised 'O' before she jumped into action, hastily moving her work bag to the floor, not wanting it to get soiled by the spilt milk and coffee.

Daniel finally managed to compose himself enough to help, mopping up the mess with a few spare paper napkins while Betty cleared their mugs which thankfully, had not been broken. She'd somehow managed to get coffee on her shirt as well, so she excused herself to go change and told him she'd ask Sofia if she could make them some more of that French vanilla coffee he loved.

Daniel nodded easily and Betty shot him a smile before heading further into the house.

With the table safely free of coffee, Daniel started to put the few books and magazines that Betty had removed back. He grabbed her work case but he must have picked it up upside down, and Betty had left the zip open so a pile of papers and files slid out in a mess on the floor.

With a sigh at his clumsy action, he started gathering the papers back up, trying to put them back in order. Daniel wouldn't have given them a second glance, except he caught a glimpse of something that seemed a little out of place.

_I'm half agony, half hope._

Daniel frowned, trying to make sense of the unusual phrase.

The words were handwritten in an untidy but still intelligible scrawl. It wasn't Betty's handwriting. Curiosity getting the better of him, he pulled the sheet of notepaper out from where it was stuck between two files. His eyes widened as he read the next few lines.

_In five days, I'm leaving New York. We're joining The Hype on their world tour as the opening act. Come with me. Give us a chance to work things out. It's for two months, but we don't even have to go back to New York afterwards. We can start over together, some place new. Some place free from all the things that usually consume us and complicate matters._

It was part of a love letter, he realised.

Daniel started searching through the mess of papers for another sheet of the same notepaper. It didn't take him long to find it. The sheets weren't in order, but this next part seemed to be from the beginning of the letter, Daniel thought, noting the date written in the top right corner. It was dated two months ago – one month after he and Betty had started dating.

Daniel swallowed hard.

_I can't believe it's been six months since we last spoke. The other day I got some good news, some really good news, and I went to call you. I wanted to share it with you. I wanted us to celebrate and laugh about it like we used to. But then I remembered that I couldn't. I miss you Betty. I miss what we had and I miss all the things that we might have had. But I want to get it back. It's not too late for us. It will never be too late. _

Frantically, Daniel started searching for the other parts of the letter. He only found one more sheet of that particular notepaper.

_You asked me to respect your wishes and leave things alone. But I can't do it. You inspire feelings in me I didn't know I had. It's a gift you have, and it's too precious for me to just walk away. You have my whole heart Betty, my whole heart. I love you too damn much to let you go. _

Daniel stared at the papers in his hand. They were worn and a little wrinkled, as though they'd been read more than once.

_You have my whole heart Betty, my whole heart. I love you too damn much to let you go. _

As he stared at the words, a lump grew in Daniel's throat, so large it threatened to strangle him.

Betty had been keeping the letter in her work bag. She carried it around with her, _everyday_, with her work, _wherever she went. _Daniel wasn't fool enough to think it didn't mean something.

Something significant.

Suddenly it all started to make sense.

The way she'd shied away from any suggestion of romance when they first met; her hesitance to let him be close to her; her reluctance to respond to him; her reaction that night at his loft that neither of them had spoken of since then.

He'd been so blind not to see it before now.

But what was she doing with him then, he wondered.

Daniel felt a wave of anger rise up in him at the thought of her stringing him along, at the fact that she'd hidden this from him. His grip tightened involuntarily on the papers still clutched in his hands, his knuckles going white.

"So the coffee will be ready soon and Sofia said to..." Betty walked back into the living room but her voice faltered as she caught sight of him, kneeling on the floor in the middle of a pile of work papers.

"Daniel?" She hedged, clearly not sure what to make of this scene. He noticed her eyes dart nervously between him and the papers in his hand.

Slowly, he got to his feet and turned to face her, eyes searching her face intently for even the smallest sign that he'd come to the wrong conclusion, that there was some other explanation for the letter in his hands.

But as her gaze finally met his, the thing he had been praying not to see flickered in her eyes.

A guilty acknowledgement.

"Would you like to explain this?" He said, gesturing to the papers in his hand, his voice cold.

Betty opened her mouth and then closed it. She crossed her hands over her chest defensively.

"Daniel, it's not what you think."

That told him absolutely nothing. "Really? So it's not a letter from some other man declaring his undying love and asking you to run away with him?" He retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You shouldn't have read that," Betty said defensively. "There are things that you don't know, that you don't understand."

"Nicely done," Daniel snapped; his eyes like ice. "Turn me into the bad guy. But I'm not the one who's been lying."

Betty actually gasped at that.

"I haven't lied to you!" She protested.

"Like hell you haven't!" Daniel said harshly, his temper getting the best of him. "Three nights ago, we were at my place, and I asked you, begged you in fact to tell me what was bothering you. All I wanted was for you to be honest with me. I gave you a chance, an out. But you wouldn't tell me the truth. Am I that frightening?" He said, a note of anguish creeping into his tone now. "Or do you care so little for me that you didn't think it mattered? Didn't care that you were making a mockery of me?"

"Daniel, please stop!" Betty cried, her eyes welling with tears.

She was hurt. He could see that. But he was hurting too. Every hope he'd had, everything he thought they were moving towards had just been brutally snatched away from him. Worse, he realised, it had never been there to begin with - all this time, he'd been operating under an illusion.

"Daniel, I can see that I've handled this all wrong. But it wasn't like that! It wasn't," Betty said urgently.

"What was it like then?"

She opened her mouth again, something twisting on her face.

"You owe me that much, Betty," Daniel insisted, refusing to let her off the hook. "We can't just go on like we have. Not now."

He waited, his heart pounding, a splinter of ice down his spine. He clenched his hands into fists, wanting to hide the fact that his fingers were trembling. Daniel wanted to give her a chance to explain, even though this whole horrible argument made him feel like his chest had been pried open.

Betty gave a defeated sigh.

"Alright," She said softly, squaring her shoulders before she looked up to meet his gaze. "What do you want to know?"

* * *

Jesse Wilde.

That was the man Betty had been in love with. Was still in love with.

They'd dated for a year, in secret, and when she'd finally told her parents about the relationship, they'd told her to end it and she'd refused, walking out on them despite her mother's attempts to stop her.

That was the same night as Rosa's accident.

It certainly explained the tension he'd sensed between Betty and her family that night. Betty felt responsible for what happened to her mother. Blamed what she considered her selfishness over her relationship with Jesse as the cause of her mother's and consequently her whole family's troubles.

Emotional and wracked with guilt, this had prompted her decision to do as her family asked and end things with Jesse. She'd agreed to start seeing Daniel, again, because it was what her family wanted.

She and Jesse had been broken up for five months when Daniel asked Betty out. This made him feel a little better. Although, clearly, Jesse was not ready to let go of Betty and neither was she if her carrying his love letters around for two months was anything to go by.

When she'd actually admitted to still being in love with Jesse, Daniel had stormed out.

He may have asked the question, but there was only so much his heart could take.

And hearing the woman he was in love with declare her love for someone else was just about it. Daniel had been slammed with a wave of excruciating emotion, too confusing and undefined to name. For a moment, he'd thought he might fall over and he just had to get out of there.

So he'd said something terse and abrupt, and then made his escape.

It was a momentary respite though.

Daniel had learned not to run away from his problems anymore and he knew that the hardest part was yet to come.

Some instinct deep inside him told him that Betty was the one. That however hard or however long he searched, he would never find another woman who filled his heart like she did. In such an incredibly short amount of time she'd become his whole world.

And so he would do whatever it took to make her happy.

* * *

"Was the food ok?" Betty ventured to ask.

"It's very good," Daniel responded quietly.

Betty nodded faintly before returning her eyes to her plate.

She'd called him a few days after their blowout and asked if they could talk over dinner. Daniel had agreed readily, knowing as well as Betty that they couldn't just leave things as they were. He'd invited her to his place again and she'd asked if she could cook for them.

He knew she was trying to make amends and he appreciated the gesture.

Now the meal was drawing to a close and Daniel knew they'd have to be getting to the "talk" part of the dinner soon. Up until now, he and Betty had made an unspoken agreement to keep the conversation light and ignore the elephant in the room.

"Shall I make us some coffee?" Betty said, making a move towards his kitchen.

Daniel shook his head and moved towards her.

"Leave that for now, Betty," He said, taking her hand in his and was pleased when she didn't pull away. "Come and sit with me on the couch for a bit."

He lead her over to the leather couch, trying to push aside memories of what happened between them the last time they'd been together on this particular piece of furniture. There was no place for thoughts like that in the conversation he and Betty were about to have.

They sat next to each other, still holding hands. They were both quiet, both trying to figure out what to say, where to start.

To his surprise, it was Betty that broke the silence first.

"Daniel, I owe you an apology," She started. He arched an arrogant eyebrow at her in response. He felt her squeeze his hand slightly and she took a deep breath.

"I've behaved very badly with you and you've been nothing but kind and generous to me. You were right. I should have told you about Jesse. I don't know that it would have changed anything, but you've always been honest with me and you deserve the same from me," She said remorsefully.

"I'd kind of like to know why you didn't tell me?" He said softly.

She shrugged.

"I don't know Daniel. I guess I didn't think you'd understand. And then I didn't think there was much point. Jesse isn't a part of my life. I had made the decision to move on so I didn't see what good it would do to dredge the whole sorry mess up. I was trying to forget really and I thought that would make things easier."

"Only it didn't. And you haven't moved on, have you Betty?" Daniel said sadly. "You're still in love with him." It wasn't a question.

"Jesse can't be a part of my life anymore Daniel," Betty said firmly. "My head has accepted that, but my heart needs a little more time. That's why I think, I couldn't seem to allow myself to be close to you. It was never my intention to lead you on, Daniel. I haven't gone into our relationship assuming that it's just a temporary, casual thing or a rebound. I know I haven't been acting like it, but I'd like to give us a chance. You just need to give me a little more time. I need time to kill the old Betty and all those things she used to feel."

At her words, Daniel felt his heart break just that little bit more. He knew now that this hadn't been easy for Betty. She was trying so desperately to do what everyone else wanted, to please her parents, to please him. If it was at all possible, his heart swelled with love for her even more. Unfortunately, it was also an affirmation of what he had to do.

"That's not what I want though," He said eventually. "That was the Betty I fell in love with, I don't want her to be gone."

"Oh Daniel," Betty looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears. Daniel didn't hesitate to pull her into his arms, cradling her.

"Shh, it's going to be alright," He murmured soothingly, even though he quite felt like crying himself. "You know, I've never known a girl as good as you, who would break her own heart so everyone else could be happy."

"So you've forgiven me then?" She murmured.

"There's nothing to forgive, Betty. I understand you now. And that's why..." His voice broke. He fought against the lump rising in his throat. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, and while it hurt his heart to do it, the thought of her broken heart hurt more.

"Daniel?" She prompted when he didn't continue.

He tightened his grip around her, holding her tight against his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"That's why," He continued, "I'm going to help you find Jesse and take you to him."

At his words, Betty pulled away from him so fast she almost fell off the couch, Daniel's arm around her waist the only thing stopping her. Her mouth had dropped open and she was staring at him with wide eyes. Daniel would have laughed if the ache in his chest wasn't so strong.

"Wh-what?" She stammered in disbelief.

He swallowed hard.

"I'm not going to make you stay with me, Betty. How could I when I know it's not what you really want? I said to you once that I value your feelings. What kind of man would I be if I made you stay, knowing you were miserable."

"I'm not miserable, Daniel," Betty said softly.

"But you're not happy either, are you? And that's not something I'm willing to accept," He said firmly.

"So you're going to help reunite me with my old boyfriend?" She said, with something like awe.

"You love him, don't you?" Betty remained silent and looked away from him.

Taking her silence as an acknowledgement, Daniel nodded. "Then yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"And then what?" Betty looked up at him from underneath her lashes.

Daniel shrugged.

"That'll be up to you and Jesse."

"No, Daniel," Betty shook her head. "What I mean is, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to keep the promise I made you, the last time we were on this couch," He couldn't help but smile as Betty blushed at his words. "I told you I would help you, no matter what. So that's what I'm going to do. I'll take you to Jesse and then I'll walk away. After that, I don't really know."

Betty gazed at him, something unspeakably soft entering her gaze.

"I don't understand...I don't know what to say...I just..." She struggled, "why would you do this?"

Daniel didn't answer right away, not sure if he should tell her the truth or not. But he'd wanted them to be honest and wasn't going to renege on that agreement now.

"Because," He took a deep breath, "I want you to be happy. Because your happiness is more important to me than my own. Jesse was right when he said you have a gift for inspiring feelings in others."

"Daniel?" Her dark doe eyes were confused. Daniel shook his head. She still didn't get it.

"It's simple Betty. I'm doing this because I've fallen completely and irreversibly in love with you."

He gave her a sad smile. "I love you. So I'm going to let you go."

* * *

**AN:** Dun, dun, dun! Yep, it's sacrificial lover! Daniel. We don't run into him too often. But don't worry Detty shippers. This is me we're talking about, and I am definitely on **Team Detty**!

We're moving into the second act of the story now, the part I've actually most been looking forward to writing. I'll be posting a new chapter once a week so updates can be more regular.

Finally, a little bit of trivia: _The Hype_ is a reference to the early incarnation of a real band. Although, they go by a different name now. Does anyone know which band I'm talking about? ;)

Also, one of the lines from Jesse's letter is taken from the famous love letter in Jane Austen's _Persuasion_. Can anyone guess which one?

Thanks for reading! :)


	8. I'll be there

**Author's note:** Thanks so much for your encouraging comments and continued support!

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

**8**

With a frustrated sigh, Betty rolled over on to her back, the bed sheets twisting around her. She had been trying to get to sleep for the past hour with little success.

Her mind would not quiet; too busy replaying the events of her dinner with Daniel over and over. His reaction to the truth about Jesse had been the very last thing she had ever expected.

The man was a conundrum.

According to the gossips, he'd spent most of his adult life in an alcoholic, drug-induced stupor, and bedding anything in a skirt.

He himself had admitted as much to her that night in Central Park.

He walked out on his family, on his wealth and privilege, and returned seven years later, a self-made man with a life of his own choosing.

He'd always played fast and loose with women, but with her, he made himself go slow.

Then he told her he loved her. And in practically the same breath told her he was going to help reunite her with the man _she _loved.

Betty didn't understand him. At all.

She thought he was being completely irrational.

But Daniel was adamant. He was going to help her. Even when she told him that her parents would never accept her relationship with Jesse. Even when she asked him how he was going to explain all this to Claire and Bradford.

"_You let me worry about that," He said. "Betty, I understand how you feel. But your parents don't always know what's best for you. I've been there. I was so hungry and desperate for my father's approval it nearly killed me." _

_Betty grew somewhat alarmed as she noticed the way Daniel's expression darkened. She got the distinct feeling his declaration wasn't just an idle expression. He cleared his throat._

"_Trust me on this Betty. If you try pleasing your parents forever, you're going to end up resenting them. And that's much worse."_

"_Maybe. But I don't even know where Jesse is, Daniel; what he's doing. He might not want anything to do with me, he might have moved on," She offered by way of a lame protest._

_Daniel shrugged._

"_So we'll find him and you'll see for yourself. But if you don't take the chance, then you'll never know. And you know I'll be there if you need me."_

_Betty pulled a face._

"_Why are you doing this to me, Daniel? You make it sound so easy."_

_He flashed his usual mocking smile._

"_You love each other. That's worth everything."_

_There was an odd resonance to his words. Daniel raised his hand to his eyes, hiding their expression from her. She bit her lip guiltily. She'd almost forgotten _his_ confession of love to her._

"_Daniel..."_

"_Betty don't," He cut her off abruptly. "This is my decision. So don't you dare feel sorry for me. I want to do this one thing for you; since you won't let me give you anything else," He added almost to himself._

_Betty nodded quietly and didn't say anything more._

Having grown tired of tossing around pointlessly, Betty padded barefoot across the kitchen. Maybe a cup of hot chocolate would help soothe her nerves enough to get some sleep.

After all, she was going to need all her strength for the day that lay ahead.

* * *

"Have you lost your senses completely!" Bradford thundered. "I thought you were in love with the girl. Now you tell us you're going to go off on some fool's errand to deliver her to another man!"

Daniel paused, fighting his instinctive impulse to retaliate and lash out, the way he'd always done when his father had berated him in the past.

"I'm doing this _because_ I love her," He said calmly. "It's the right thing to do. Betty was pressured into a relationship with me. She should never have been put in this position."

"Daniel darling," Claire came towards him and rested a hand on his arm. "I understand where you're coming from, and even admire the nobility of this...uh...well, gesture. But I would have thought, if she means as much to you as you say, that you would want to give her a reason to stay with you; that you would fight for her."

Daniel took his mother's hand gently in his own and gave her a sad smile.

"Believe me, mum. I didn't reach this decision easily. And a part of me still wants to just rip this guy's head off and declare to the world that Betty's mine," His voice unconsciously grew louder as he betrayed some of what he was feeling. Daniel blew out a breath and shook his head slightly. "But I can't do that. I have to respect her. And while she cares about me, she doesn't love me the way I love her. So I won't force myself on her."

Something changed in Claire's expression then as she looked at him. Daniel couldn't be sure exactly, but his mother seemed to be looking at him with something almost like pride.

"Well, would you look at that," She said, raising her hand to tenderly cup his cheek, "after all this time, my little boy's finally all grown up."

He gave her a small, shy smile as she kissed his forehead.

"Ignacio's going to be even less pleased about this than I am," Bradford spoke up again. "Are you prepared for that Daniel? Are you prepared for the fallout? And don't kid yourself for one moment that this won't have serious repercussions," He said gravely.

Daniel was about to respond but Claire got there first.

"Leave him alone Bradford," She chided her husband. "Daniel is a lot smarter than you give him credit for. And he's a grown man now. He's capable of making the right choices. So I think we should let him handle this, as he sees fit."

* * *

Daniel hated it when his father was right.

He'd hated it when his father had been right about his inability to succeed at HUDSON. And he'd really hated it when his father had been right that he just wasn't the son that Alex was.

But he'd never hated the fact that his father was right more than he did now. Betty had turned up at his loft two hours ago, in tears.

Ignacio's reaction had been even worse than Daniel had anticipated. He'd known that Ignacio would probably be angry. But he hadn't expected him to react this harshly.

Betty had been almost inconsolable.

She was crying and sobbing so hard, for a moment Daniel had worried that she would make herself sick.

As she tried to explain through her hiccupping and choked sobs, it had been difficult to understand what had happened. But finally, she managed to calm down long enough to tell him.

Ignacio had thrown her out of the house and declared that she was no longer his child.

Daniel had been shocked.

He remembered the warmth and closeness of the Suarez family that first night he met them ten months ago.

The man worshipped his family and Daniel just couldn't imagine him doing something like this. He wondered what Rosa thought. From what Betty had told him, her mother did not agree with it, but she was powerless against Ignacio's will.

He had pulled Betty into his arms and just held her, leaning his head on top of hers, and whispered to her that everything was going to be alright. When she'd cried herself past the point of exhaustion, he'd left her briefly to make up his spare room and then convinced her to go to bed.

Afterwards, he sat at his kitchen island, a mug of hot chocolate in hand, unknowingly mimicking Betty's actions from the night before.

Daniel rubbed a hand over his face tiredly.

Now more than ever he was determined to bring Betty and Jesse back together; determined to get back the cheerful, lively girl he'd fallen in love with. Betty had become a shell of her former self in the last few months and he'd noticed a lingering sadness in her eyes whenever she thought he wasn't watching her.

But no more.

He was going to reunite Betty with Jesse. He was that light at the end of the tunnel for her.

Daniel rinsed out his cup in the sink and then quietly padded back down the hallway.

He paused outside the spare room.

Turning the knob as quietly as he could, Daniel looked in on the girl sleeping in the bed.

Betty was lying on her back, her raven hair fanned out on the pillow like a dark halo around her; her breaths deep and even. As Daniel drew a little closer he noticed the remnants of tears still staining her cheeks. He ran one finger gently down her cheek, his touch feather light.

He breathed sharply as the sudden ache in his chest deepened.

She was so lovely. And he loved her. But she could never be his.

It was like a cruel, cosmic joke. Women had literally thrown themselves at him but the only one that mattered, the one he truly wanted remained elusive; always within his grasp, but still just out of reach.

Swallowing over the emotion rising in his throat, Daniel bent forward and brushed a light kiss against her forehead.

She murmured something unintelligible but otherwise did not stir and Daniel took that as his cue to leave before he did something foolish. Like kiss her.

Leaning against the shut door he released a slow breath, and despite his resolve, despite all his good intentions, he couldn't help but wish that he'd had the chance to win her heart first.

* * *

Daniel woke up the next morning to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. He couldn't help the smile that rose to his face as he watched Betty potter around his kitchen. She was reaching for something in the fridge when he made his presence known.

And promptly caused her to jump up in alarm and bang her head against one of the fridge shelves.

"Daniel!" She spun round in surprise to face him.

He shot her a guilty smile.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to startle you."

Betty waved him off.

"Its fine, I was just uh...fixing some breakfast...I hope that's okay," She seemed a little nervous.

Daniel shrugged easily.

"Sure, make yourself at home. Besides, it's not like you haven't cooked here before."

Betty gave him a weak smile and met his gaze briefly. Daniel noticed that her eyes were still a little red from crying and his brow furrowed in concern.

"Hey," He said gently. "How are you feeling this morning? You had a rough night."

"I'm fine," Betty said a little too quickly. At Daniel's sceptical look she admitted, "ok, maybe not fine. But I'm getting there. So stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm about to have a nervous break-down and start crying into the scrambled eggs."

"Ok," He had the grace to look a little sheepish. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. What happened yesterday...that's a pretty big deal."

"Well, like I said, I'm better," Betty dropped the eggs into a pan. "But really embarrassed."

Daniel frowned.

"Why?" He didn't understand what she would feel embarrassed about. It went some way to explaining why she seemed so nervous around him this morning though.

"For showing up here last night the way I did," She said, her tone suggesting it should have been obvious. "The total break-down that followed. And then you, rocking me like I was a child." Betty shook her head and quickly refocused her attention on the contents in the pan.

"Betty; there's nothing wrong with needing someone to lean on. We all need a little help now and then. I wouldn't have made it without the help of my friend Vincent back when I was still a pretty big screw-up," Daniel confessed.

"I know that, Daniel. But it's just...I've been leaning so much on you lately..." Betty trailed off and dumped the now ready-to-eat eggs unceremoniously onto two plates.

"And you know I'm happy to be there for you," Daniel fetched the popped toast and the two of them settled down to eat.

Betty shrugged awkwardly.

"Still, I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you. It means a lot that you've...that you've been there. And thank you for what you did last night."

Daniel smiled at her.

"I told you, I made a promise to help, that's what I intend to do."

The corners of her mouth quirked up slightly. It was a ghost of her usual brilliant smile, but it was something.

They ate in comfortable silence and Daniel couldn't help but revel in the quiet moment of simple domesticity. If he and Betty had gone the way he'd wanted, he imagined that their life together would have included mornings that were something like this.

"So I've got a few errands to run today," He spoke eventually. "But you can just hang out here, it is Saturday after all. I'll give you my spare keys in case you want to go out before I get back. That way you can let yourself back in."

"Actually Daniel," Betty cut in, "I was planning on going to stay at my friend Christina's. So I won't need the keys."

Daniel froze.

"Why?"

"Well, maybe you forgot but my dad kind of kicked me out yesterday and I don't exactly have a place of my own yet so-"

"No," this time Daniel interrupted, "what I meant was, why are you staying at your friend's place? Why don't you just stay here?"

Betty actually gaped at him.

"Daniel! I can't stay here!" She immediately protested.

"Why not? It's not like I don't have room, and you already know your way around the kitchen," He gave her a teasing smile but Betty just shook her head.

"Daniel, that's really generous of you. But I just, I can't. I don't think it would be appropriate," Betty insisted. "So thank you, really" She continued when he went to protest. "I can't tell you how grateful I am to you for what you did last night and even here this morning, but no. I think it would be better if I stay at Christina's. Until I find a place of my own; anyway."

Daniel sighed but seeing that she wasn't going to budge on this, decided to let the matter drop.

"Ok, but if you need anything, just let me know alright."

* * *

A week later, Daniel stood outside the Suarez house.

Betty had needed to fetch some of her belongings, mainly clothes, but she had been a little reluctant to return to the house. She hadn't said anything, but Daniel knew she was wary of seeing her father again and didn't feel comfortable going back to the home she'd been told she no longer had a place in.

With a sigh, Daniel rang the doorbell.

He was surprised to find the door answered almost immediately by Betty's mother, Rosa. She wasn't walking on her own yet, but she'd been using the walker for the last month now. She seemed just as surprised to see him.

"Daniel?" Her dark eyes, so much like Betty's, widened slightly.

"Hello Mrs. Suarez," He murmured politely.

At that Rosa seemed to come back to herself.

"Goodness, where are my manners," She shuffled sideways slightly, making room for him to get past. "Come in, please."

"You caught me a little by surprise," She continued once they were standing in the entry way. "I was expecting Elisabetta. She asked me to pack some things for her and said she'd come by to collect them around this time," Rosa explained.

Daniel felt a pang of guilt. He recognised the anxious, tense posture of Rosa. She had clearly wanted to see her youngest daughter and was glad of the excuse fetching her things had given Betty to come.

"Actually, that's why I'm here," Daniel explained and watched Rosa's face fall. "Betty didn't quite feel up to it. I think she wasn't sure that she'd be...uh...welcome."

Rosa sighed and looked unspeakably sad.

"I suppose I can't blame her," She said quietly.

Daniel kept silent. He wanted to offer some words of comfort, but he knew that they would ultimately be meaningless.

"Her things are in the living room," Rosa said eventually. "Here," she gestured for him to follow her.

They moved slowly, Rosa taking a little longer with her walker and Daniel keeping an eye on her.

"You seem to be doing better," Daniel remarked, breaking the not entirely comfortable silence.

"I am, thank you dear. It has not been easy, but we Suarez women are tougher than we look, no?" Rosa gave him a significant look and Daniel nodded in acknowledgement.

They reached the lounge where there were three floral print suitcases, a fun, retro design, sitting innocuously in the centre of the room.

"Gerbera daisies," Rosa commented, nodding toward the floral design, "Betty's favourite."

"She's doing well," Daniel said, moving to take two of the cases in one hand. They had wheels which made things a lot easier.

"She is?" Rosa said and the anxiety was back. "I just want her to be okay, to be happy."

"She's pretty resilient," Daniel assured the older woman. "And as for happy, she will be."

"You've been helping her?" Rosa asked him.

"I've been helping her, yes," Daniel confirmed, he grabbed the last suitcase with his free hand. "Well, as much as she lets me," He smirked slightly, "You have a very stubborn daughter."

"She's like her father that way," Rosa smiled faintly and then her expression sobered. "It's his stubbornness that's making him keep Elisabetta at arm's length now. This whole situation, it just...it hurts you know? It hurts to have one's family torn apart like this."

"I know," Daniel nodded sympathetically. "But maybe Mr. Suarez will start to come around. I promise you this though, I'll look out for Betty. I know she's feeling just as torn up about everything though she puts on a brave face. But I'll make sure she's never too sad."

Rosa smiled up at him, a single tear trailing down her cheek, and reached up to kiss his forehead; Daniel leaned down so she didn't have to stretch.

"Thank you, Daniel," She said sincerely, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "That is a great comfort to me; knowing that Elisabetta has you by her side."

Daniel nodded once more and started to move off again when he became aware of another presence in the room.

Straightening up, he turned to find Ignacio Suarez standing at the base of the large staircase.

"Mr. Suarez," Daniel greeted him politely and the older man nodded in acknowledgement.

"Daniel was just fetching some of Elisabetta's things," Rosa explained.

"I see," Ignacio said curtly. "So she didn't come herself then. Didn't even want to look back once at us, her parents."

"Can you blame her, Ignacio? After the way you turned her away; the way you just cast her out," Rosa snapped; some of her anger towards her husband clearly showing.

"She brought this on herself," Ignacio retorted. "She walked out on this family the moment she chose that _boy_ and went against our wishes! She proved she has no regard for our family!"

Rosa shook her head, clearly too upset to say anything more. But Daniel couldn't keep quiet any longer having been standing there the entire time the small row took place.

"Mr. Suarez, I don't mean to be disrespectful or to speak out of turn, but you are making a mistake."

Ignacio regarded Daniel coldly.

"Tread lightly Daniel. I am fond of you and your parents, but you are talking now of things that you do not know and that are not your concern."

"I'm sorry sir, but Betty is my concern," Daniel continued boldly.

"She's a good girl. In fact I've never known a better daughter to her parents. Betty has done everything you've ever asked of her. She was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for you. In fact, I was the one who persuaded her otherwise," Ignacio looked momentarily surprised at that.

"All she's wanted is to please you," Daniel continued. "She just made one mistake – she fell in love. And maybe that's a failing to you, but you're her parents. Isn't it your job to love and accept her in spite of that? But instead you're pushing her away; you're punishing her. And what sort of punishment is this? You've broken her heart, and you're going to destroy your family because of pride and ego."

"Daniel..." Ignacio said; a clear warning in his tone. But Daniel pushed on.

"You can call it family honour or duty or whatever you want. But that's all it really is. Don't make that mistake. Don't push Betty away."

"That's enough!" Ignacio said sharply. "You've said...you've said quite enough," He repeated, his voice faltering.

"I hope so," Daniel said quietly. "Please Mr. Suarez. Her family means everything to Betty. Don't lose her over this."

Daniel turned to go and was almost out the door when Rosa called out to him.

"You know Daniel, I'm sorry things couldn't be different between you and Elisabetta. Because I would have loved, I would have been very proud to have you for a son."

* * *

"This place is tiny!" Daniel remarked, hauling Betty's three suitcases after him into the flat.

"Its fine," Betty rolled her eyes slightly. "Don't be such a snob. I'm one person. I don't need a huge amount of space."

"Yeah, but if you and Christina are going to be sharing for a while, won't it get kind of cramped with two people."

"Actually, Christina's at her boyfriend, Stuart's place most of the time. So I've pretty much got the flat to myself. Do you want something to drink?" Betty called out from the kitchen.

"Sure," Daniel agreed, flopping onto the worn sofa. The lift was out of service so he'd hauled the three suitcases up four flights of stairs. He was parched.

"Beer, soda, water or juice?"

"Let's go with beer."

Betty came back into the living room with a beer for Daniel and a bottle of water for herself.

"I'm sorry about the lift," She said sheepishly. "I really appreciate you helping me out with this today. I just, I can't go back there. Not after...everything," Betty explained awkwardly.

"Your mum really wanted to see you," Daniel informed her, taking a sip of his beer. "Maybe you should call her."

"I will," Betty nodded.

She sat down next to him and didn't say anything further on the subject.

"Did you maybe want to come over for dinner later?" Daniel said eventually. "I think there are a few take-out menus we haven't tackled yet," He smirked.

"Not a bad idea, but I've uh, already got plans," She started playing with the hem of her t-shirt. Daniel merely raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.

Betty sighed.

"A friend of...of Jesse's is playing a gig tonight. I figured I'd catch him afterwards, maybe see if they'd been in touch recently," She bit her bottom lip. Daniel was beginning to recognise it as one of her nervous habits.

He took a long swallow of beer in response. Daniel had known that it was only a matter of time until they stumbled on to a lead about Jesse's whereabouts since Betty had learned that he hadn't returned to New York.

But he couldn't deny that he'd been enjoying living in this little bubble that was just for the two of them. He was a little miffed to be jarred back to reality so suddenly.

"Oh," He said finally, "ok, we can do that instead."

"What? No, Daniel, that's ok. I can meet him on my own. It's not like I'm meeting a stranger, I know Adam."

"All the same, I don't like the idea of you going to some rock gig on your own," Daniel said protectively.

"I'm not a child you know!" Betty snapped, beginning to grow annoyed now. "I don't need a chaperone."

"I know that," Daniel said. "But you would tell me what happened later anyway, and I don't have any plans for tonight, so I might as well come along," He reasoned.

"I guess that makes sense," She relented. "I just didn't want to be insensitive because of..."

"My feelings for you," Daniel finished when she trailed off. "And tonight you're going to see someone about another guy."

Betty blushed prettily at his matter-of-fact tone.

Daniel put his beer down and reached for her hand.

"Betty, you don't have to protect me. I know exactly what I'm getting into and I can handle it," He tried to reassure her. Although truthfully, he couldn't be sure that he wasn't going to spontaneously combust with jealousy and possessiveness at any moment.

"It just seems so selfish," Betty confessed.

"It's not," Daniel swallowed hard, forcing his jealousy down. "I wanted to help you. Even if that means you're with someone else. If you're happy, that's enough for me."

* * *

Betty wasn't sure what was funnier.

The look on Daniel's face when he'd picked her up at Christina's flat, dressed for a night out, or the look on his face now as he got his first look at the bar she'd brought him to.

It had occurred to her belatedly that Daniel had only ever seen her dressed formally or cute and casual when they'd been dating. He'd never seen her dressed for a gig and his jaw had literally dropped as he'd taken in her off-the-shoulder form fitting blue top and dark denim jeans. She'd left her hair in loose waves that swept her shoulders and used dark eye shadow and eyeliner to make her eyes look large, dramatic and smoky.

He'd taken a moment to recover himself, choked out a compliment and then guided her to the lift after she'd locked up the flat. He'd had a town car waiting for them outside the apartment building, but Betty had suggested they take a cab instead considering the part of town they were going to.

Twenty minutes later they were pulling up to the Old Gaol, a seedy-looking bar downtown. Daniel's expression was somewhere between appalled and nauseous as he surveyed what was probably one of the sketchiest clubs in the city.

"I told you, you didn't have to come with me tonight," Betty nudged him.

"There's no way I would let you come to a dive like this on your own. And you've been here before?" He said incredulously.

Betty nodded. She'd done a number of things and been to a lot of places she wouldn't have typically gone if not for the fact that she was dating Jesse. He'd opened up a whole new world to her. She didn't always like it, but a lot of the time she did. And Jesse always looked out for her, she felt safe with him.

Just like she did with Daniel.

The thought startled her. Since when had she started comparing Jesse and Daniel?

"You okay?" Daniel said, watching her closely.

"Fine," Betty shot him a smile. "If it's any consolation, Adam's band is pretty good. Come on, we don't want to miss the start of the set."

Daniel once again looked surprised that the bouncer at the door knew Betty by name, and quickly ushered them in. But she'd been there a few times with Jesse in the year they'd been together. The Old Gaol was a sea of bodies, all looking forward to a fun night. In this crowd, Daniel looked a little over-dressed. Even in his leather jacket, dark t-shirt and jeans, he still screamed Upper East Side! probably because they were all pristine designer threads.

They managed to find a free table near the back of the room and Daniel found them some drinks just as the set was starting. Betty cheered loudly when Adam appeared on the platform that served as a stage, and responded to Daniel's surprised gaze with a questioning look of her own.

As the music started, Betty felt a little shot of excitement race through her veins. It felt like her entire body hummed with the thrill of anticipation. She didn't know if it was the familiar surroundings, a reminder of her time with Jesse, or the fact that she was one step closer to finding him tonight, but for the first time since this whole thing started Betty felt for one brief moment that maybe things would get back to the way they were again. She would be happy again.

So with sudden zest, she drank down half her glass of Guinness and then got up to dance with the rest of the crowd.

It had been a hard couple of weeks. She could get back to worrying and thinking about everything later in the evening – it wasn't like her troubles were going anywhere. But for the next half hour, she was letting her hair down.

Whether Daniel was up for it or not.

* * *

He had been mesmerized as he watched the petit, dark-haired beauty sway and bop along with the music.

Daniel had never seen this side of Betty before; so spontaneous and uninhibited. He'd been too stunned to react when she'd initially downed her beer and jumped up to join the dancing crowd. Then he'd been enjoying the sight of her dancing too much to join her. For a moment, he saw flashes of the girl he'd first met that night so many months ago now. When he spotted some guy making a move towards her though, he bounded up from his seat like a Jack-in-the-box and was pushing his way through the crowd, intercepting the other guy before he could reach her.

Betty had tensed at first until she'd realised just who had grabbed her hand. They'd danced together for the last song and Daniel had refused to feel guilty for enjoying the feeling of Betty's body moving so close to his.

Now they were seated at the bar, waiting for this Adam guy to emerge.

"Hey stranger!" A husky voice called behind them.

Daniel turned to see the band front man making his way towards them. He was taller than Daniel, with light brown hair that was mussed and green eyes that appeared to be lined with eyeliner. His sleeveless white t-shirt showed off a tattoo on his bicep; he wore a leather cuff on his wrist that was covered with a few more bracelets and his nails were painted black. Worn, ripped jeans completed the look.

Daniel had taught himself not to make snap judgements about others, but he couldn't help but be surprised. This guy was not the kind of social circle he had expected Betty to have.

Then again, he reasoned, she had dated a rock musician for a year.

"Adam!" Betty smiled as the other man leaned down and gave her a hug.

As he watched the rocker, Daniel couldn't help but wonder if this is what Jesse was like; all animal magnetism and devil-may-care-cool.

And if he was, how the hell would Daniel ever have expected to compete with him?

* * *

"Amsterdam?" Betty said in surprise.

Adam nodded.

"That's the last I heard from him. The band's in LA now, recording some sort of demo," Adam continued. "Kyle was here about a month ago, wrapping some things up with his apartment and stuff. It looks like they're gonna stay out there permanently now. But Jesse left straight after The Hype tour. He called about two months back, asking me to pack up his apartment and store his crap while he's away."

"Did he say how long he'd be gone?" Betty asked anxiously.

Adam shook his head.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure _he_ knows," He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Not to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but I got the feeling he was kind of planning a permanent move."

Betty felt her heart sink. In his letter, Jesse had told her that they wouldn't have to return to New York. But she hadn't thought that he would decide to stay away on his own. However, that was evidently what he intended. Jesse wanted to wipe the slate clean. Start over.

"I was sorry to hear what happened with you guys," Adam added, noticing her expression.

"Jesse told you?"

"Hey, next to the band, I'm his best friend," Adam gave a roguish smile. "And I'm way more discreet than Mark," He added.

Betty nodded in agreement, remembering all the times Jesse had complained to her about Mark landing him in hot water because he never knew when to shut up.

"I'm surprised you're still talking to me then," She said in a small voice, "after what happened..."

"Hey now," Adam put a comforting arm around her. "Jesse didn't go into all the details, but from what he said, it didn't sound like you had much choice in the matter. But I'm guessing that now you want to try and fix things, hence the reason for this little pow-wow," He shot her a knowing smile.

"I do, Adam. I really do. But do you think Jesse will even want to talk with me, let alone anything else?"

Adam looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Wait, is that a serious question? Sweetheart, he's crazy about you! Of course he'll want to talk to you. And probably a whole lot more after the dry spell he's having," He grinned wickedly.

"Adam!" Betty hit his arm, blushing about ten shades of red at his innuendo. He winked at her playfully.

"So you mentioned Amsterdam?" Daniel entered the conversation and gave Betty a chance to recover from her embarrassment. He'd been sitting quietly so far.

"Yeah," Adam turned his attention to the other man. "That's the last place The Hype toured. When I spoke to Jesse, he said he was gonna hang around there for awhile, figure some stuff out."

"Did he mention where he was staying?" Daniel continued; his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Not specifically. He mentioned something about youth hostels or a back-packers'. Although...hang on!" Adam started checking his pockets, finally coming up with his mobile. "He did call me on my cell," He said, starting to fiddle with the little electronic device. "I probably still have the number on my log, that might be a start," Adam said helpfully.

After Adam got the number for them, they stayed for another drink and chatted for a while, and he managed to make her blush twice more in the course of the next fifteen minutes. When she sensed Daniel starting to get restless, she decided to make their excuses and say goodnight.

"It was good to meet you Daniel," Adam said extending his hand, all ease and friendliness. "And you sweetheart," He turned to her, "don't be a stranger, alright," He gave her another hug.

"I won't. Awesome set tonight by the way," She added. Adam smiled appreciatively.

"See you around." With a final playful wink and a wave, he sauntered over to a booth near the back where some of his band mates were.

Standing on the pavement outside the bar, Betty relished the rush of cool, fresh air.

"So..." Betty started, not sure what she wanted to say.

"So..." Daniel echoed.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight," She gave him a shy smile.

Daniel nodded slightly. "You know some interesting people, Betty."

"Adam's a good guy. And he was really nice to help us out like that."

"He was. Although his flirting was a little counter-productive," He said, almost snidely.

Betty gave him an odd look. Was that why he'd started to get so uptight back in there? Deciding not to get into it, she ignored his comment and decided to move them swiftly on.

"So what now?" She said; referring to the lead they'd gotten on Jesse.

"Now...you'd better get your passport ready," Daniel met her curious gaze, "because it looks like we're going to Amsterdam."

* * *

**AN:** My apologies if Betty seemed a little out of character. But I figured, she and Jesse were together for a year so he would have rubbed off on her a little. And he would have introduced her to different things, different kinds of people than she 'd otherwise encounter. Thanks for reading!


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